Skip to main content

AIG funnels taxpayer funds to counterparties

The morning's headline at MarketWatch reads, "AIG details $105 billion in payouts", but it might as well read, "AIG funnels taxpayer funds to counterparties".

Well, at least that's the case as far as I can tell (and I'm far from an expert on the ever-growing AIG bailout story). Apparently, AIG's payouts of bailout funds to its counterparties is great news; the "blue chip penny stock" is up over 60 percent (about 30 cents) in today's trading.

Here's more from MarketWatch:

"American International Group revealed on Sunday details of $105 billion of government funds that it paid to U.S. and international banks including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale.

The cash paid to AIG's so-called counterparties was used to cover collateral payments, cancel derivatives contracts and meet obligations at its securities lending business.

Now majority-owned by the government, AIG (AIG) has received more than $170 billion in bailout funds to keep it in operation since mid-September, when it found itself on the verge of collapse. Most of the leading U.S. and European banks were represented on the list of recipients of AIG payouts. Goldman Sachs Group (GS) got the biggest single total, receiving $12.9 billion."

Of course, no such story would be complete without an ex-government employee to vouch for the soundness of this ongoing AIG bailout. I mean, without it we'd all be totally screwed right?

Take it away Bloomberg:

"Banks that bought credit-default swaps or traded securities with AIG got $22.4 billion in collateral, $27.1 billion in payments from a U.S. entity to retire the derivatives, and $43.7 billion tied to the securities-lending program, AIG said yesterday in a statement. States, including California and Virginia, got $12.1 billion tied to guaranteed investment contracts.

“It puts a sour taste in the American taxpayer’s mouth, but you have to look at that in terms of the bigger picture,” said Donald Powell, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. from 2001 until 2005. “If you’re going to have any chance of recovery you probably have to stay with it.”"

Government has delivered us from the market's evil wrath. Prosperity is just around the corner!

As you may well know, this latest disclosure comes hot on the heels of yesterday's outrage over executive bonuses (to be paid out with taxpayer funded bailout money) at AIG.

Related articles and posts:

1. Goldman Sachs wins big in secret bailout - Clusterstock.

2. AIG: is the risk systemic? - Big Picture.

3. The myth of systemic collapse - Real Clear Markets.

4. Hugh Hendry: AIG is no longer with us - Finance Trends.

Popular posts from this blog

Nasdaq credit rating junked.

S&P cut Nasdaq's credit rating to junk status citing debt burdens and its questionable strategy to buy a controlling interest in the London Stock Exchange. Financial Times reported that the exchange's counterparty credit & bank loan rating were lowered fromm BBB- (lowest investment grade rating) to BB+. The change will increase Nasdaq's borrowing costs should it wish to pursue aquisition targets. For an earlier look at the exchange consolidation trend that brought about Nasdaq's push for a stake in the LSE, please see "Exchange fever" .

Clean Money - John Rubino: Book review

Clean Money by John Rubino 274 pages. Hoboken, New Jersey John Wiley & Sons. 2009. 1st Edition. The bouyant stock market environment of the past several years is gone, and the financial wreckage of 2008 is still sharp in our minds as a new year starts to unfold. Given the recent across-the-board-declines in global stock markets (and most asset classes) that have left many investors shell-shocked, you might wonder if there is any good reason to consider the merits of a hot new investment theme, such as clean energy. However, we shouldn't be too hasty to write off all future stock investments. After all, the market declines of 2008 may continue into 2009, but they may also leave interesting investment opportunities in their wake. Which brings us to the subject of this review. John Rubino, author and editor of GreenStockInvesting.com , recently released a new book on renewable energy and clean-tech investing entitled, Clean Money: Picking Winners in the Green Tech Boom . In Clean ...

Jesse Livermore: How to Trade in Stocks (1940 Ed. E-book)

If you've been around markets for any length of time, you've probably heard of 20th century supertrader, Jesse Livermore . Today we're highlighting his rare 1940 work, How to Trade in Stocks (ebook, pdf). But first, a brief overview of Livermore's life and trading career (bio from Jesse Livermore's Wikipedia entry). "During his lifetime, Livermore gained and lost several multi-million dollar fortunes. Most notably, he was worth $3 million and $100 million after the 1907 and 1929 market crashes, respectively. He subsequently lost both fortunes. Apart from his success as a securities speculator, Livermore left traders a working philosophy for trading securities that emphasizes increasing the size of one's position as it goes in the right direction and cutting losses quickly. Ironically, Livermore sometimes did not follow his rules strictly. He claimed that lack of adherence to his own rules was the main reason for his losses after making his 1907 and...