<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>September 15, 2008, 10.18 pm (Singapore time)
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>AIG shares fall 52%, debt protection costs jump
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NEW YORK - Shares of American International Group fell more than 50 per cent in early trading on reports that the insurer had turned to the Federal Reserve for US$40 billion in bridge financing to ward off a liquidity crisis and ratings downgrades.
AIG shares dropped 52 per cent to US$5.82 on the New York Stock Exchange before recouping a bit to US$7.41. The shares have fallen 80 per cent this year and closed on Friday at US$12.14.
The up-front cost of insuring US$10 million of AIG debt for five years jumped to US$3.05 million from US$1.3 million on Friday, in addition to annual payments of US$500,000, according to Markit Intraday.
Over the weekend, AIG executives and New York state insurance regulators scrambled to find a way to boost AIG's liquidity.
It was not clear early on Monday if and when a plan would be agreed on. A company spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The insurer, which has incurred US$18 billion in losses over the past three quarters from guarantees it wrote on mortgage derivatives, was hit on Friday by Standard & Poor's putting the company's credit ratings on negative watch, indicating a possible downgrade.
Prisoner's dilemma
Several analysts, in research reports on Monday, said the company was likely to be vastly changed after a much-anticipated restructuring. AIG said it has been considering 'a wide range of options,' including selling off valuable assets.
'At the end of the day, it's a real prisoner's dilemma,' Wachovia analysts wrote in a research note. 'Capital options are plenty, but unfortunately AIG will have to likely cut into bone and sell good assets that are earning good returns to support the collateral needs of bad assets earning nothing.
'We don't see how AIG gets through the most recent concerns without raising capital.'
AIG, until recently the world's largest insurer, does business in 130 countries and territories around the world, selling insurance to 74 million customers worldwide.
It also has an aircraft leasing arm, an asset management business, and a financial products unit. The latter holds a credit default swap portfolio that has triggered the large mortgage losses. -- REUTERS
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>AIG shares fall 52%, debt protection costs jump
<TABLE class=storyLinks cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD align=right width=20>
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>NEW YORK - Shares of American International Group fell more than 50 per cent in early trading on reports that the insurer had turned to the Federal Reserve for US$40 billion in bridge financing to ward off a liquidity crisis and ratings downgrades.
AIG shares dropped 52 per cent to US$5.82 on the New York Stock Exchange before recouping a bit to US$7.41. The shares have fallen 80 per cent this year and closed on Friday at US$12.14.
The up-front cost of insuring US$10 million of AIG debt for five years jumped to US$3.05 million from US$1.3 million on Friday, in addition to annual payments of US$500,000, according to Markit Intraday.
Over the weekend, AIG executives and New York state insurance regulators scrambled to find a way to boost AIG's liquidity.
It was not clear early on Monday if and when a plan would be agreed on. A company spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The insurer, which has incurred US$18 billion in losses over the past three quarters from guarantees it wrote on mortgage derivatives, was hit on Friday by Standard & Poor's putting the company's credit ratings on negative watch, indicating a possible downgrade.
Prisoner's dilemma
Several analysts, in research reports on Monday, said the company was likely to be vastly changed after a much-anticipated restructuring. AIG said it has been considering 'a wide range of options,' including selling off valuable assets.
'At the end of the day, it's a real prisoner's dilemma,' Wachovia analysts wrote in a research note. 'Capital options are plenty, but unfortunately AIG will have to likely cut into bone and sell good assets that are earning good returns to support the collateral needs of bad assets earning nothing.
'We don't see how AIG gets through the most recent concerns without raising capital.'
AIG, until recently the world's largest insurer, does business in 130 countries and territories around the world, selling insurance to 74 million customers worldwide.
It also has an aircraft leasing arm, an asset management business, and a financial products unit. The latter holds a credit default swap portfolio that has triggered the large mortgage losses. -- REUTERS
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