Don't cry for me, Argentina...

[randomness]

According to Brad Setser at the Council on Foreign Relations, the "$155b in [Lehman's] outstanding bonds significantly exceeds Argentina’s outstanding stock of bonds at the time of its default".

But hey, that's yesterday's news, right?

Today's news is that the Federal Reserve caved, and is putting up $85 billion to rescue A.I.G., in exchange for an 80% stake in the company. The Fed's "no bailout" policy lasted all of two days. Sucks to be you, Lehman Brothers.

We the people have just bought the biggest insurer (by assets) in America.

I wonder what we'll get the chance to buy next.

Edit: The FT says AIG is the "world’s largest insurer by assets".

Comments

[st-rev.livejournal.com]

FUCKERS

[quezz.livejournal.com]

This is really beginning to feel like the beginnings of a dictatorship.

I need to get out of here.

[stolen-tea.livejournal.com]

Although, really, shouldn't the insurer of last resort *be* the government? I mean, sure, regular insurance should be through private companies, and there's probably even room for a second layer of private insurance (for the first layer of insurance companies, in case things go really bad in particular ways). But ultimately, when we get hit by a disaster that damages all insurance companies roughly alike, the second-order insurance companies simply aren't going to have the resources to deal with it. The only entity that can plausibly deal with it is the government, so why not just make that official?

[choirsoftheeye.livejournal.com]

I wonder what we'll get the chance to buy next.

Maybe it will be one of John McCain's houses.

[evilmagnus]

I wonder what we'll get the chance to buy next.

We have insurance wrapped up. How about a bank?

[drwex]

I was vastly amused by how nobody in the US media will call a spade a spade but the BBC had no problems saying that we "nationalized" AIG.

[belfrynotes.livejournal.com]

Oh no. Not at all. They're going to pay us back becuase it's a LOAN. Really. Doesn't the BBC understand that?

[marmota.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'm all for nationalizing key businesses, but I was thinking more along the lines of energy and construction, not finance... and why haven't we heard anything about recovering some of this money from all those mutli-million a year salaried execs that caused it all? *Grumph*

[belfrynotes.livejournal.com]

I read that Hank Greenberg, the guy who founded AIG but was ousted a couple of years ago, has seen his net worth go down by something like $19 billion since the beginning of the year. This is apparantly comparable to the GNP of Bahrain.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Hank Greenberg has be one of the angriest people on Wall Street this week. Certainly he has good reason to be angry.

Bloomberg reports:

Greenberg was ``bewildered'' because AIG refused his help after a 31 percent drop on Sept. 12 sparked concerns that the firm would run short of cash, he said in the letter to CEO Robert Willumstad, who will be replaced in the takeover.

Here's an excerpt from his letter to AIG chairman Robert Willumstad, quoted in the Washington Post:

"Despite repeated assurances from management and the company that everything was under control, it is now clear that nothing was under control," he wrote. "Since you became Chairman of AIG, you and the Board have presided over the virtual destruction of shareholder value built up over 35 years."