AIG shares fall on government stake deal

AIG signed a “definitive” agreement for borrowings of up to $85 billion from the U.S. Federal Reserve late on Tuesday paving the way for government to take a 79.9 percent stake in the insurer, something investors had tried to thwart.

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Asian Stocks Decline, Led by Banks, on Tighter Lending Rates

 Asian stocks dropped for a third day after credit markets tightened as U.S. lawmakers raised opposition to the government’s plan to bail out banks.

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Morgan Stanley, Wachovia Fall, Swaps Rise on Funding Concerns

Morgan Stanley dropped 11.5 percent today and Wachovia fell 6.4 percent as money-market interest rates reached the highest since January and as a $700 billion bank rescue plan by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson faced resistance in Congress. After Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised $10 billion through a stock offering and an infusion from billionaire investor Warren Buffett, concern also emerged that banks will have a tougher time raising cash in the future.

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Heavy put action in industrial ETF suggests big losses

Option bears on Wednesday were grabbing puts in an exchange-traded fund tracking the performance of the industrial sector on worries the credit crisis could spread to the heart of the U.S. economy.

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Pickens missed market turn, his funds lose big

T. Boone Pickens took a wrong turn and it has cost him dearly as oil prices have tumbled, resulting in roughly $1 billion in losses for one of his energy-focused hedge funds, the Texas energy tycoon told Reuters on Wednesday.

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TD Ameritrade sees charge in money fund fallout

The charge may total 5 cents per share, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said on Wednesday. It relates to last week’s announcement that the Reserve Primary Fund’s net asset value had fallen to 97 cents per share because of losses tied to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc

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Buffett considering purchase of AIG assets

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said on Wednesday his Berkshire Hathaway Inc insurance and investment company would consider buying some units from American International Group Inc.

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Nigerian Oil Workers Strike Could Shut-in 700,000 B/D

A local branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, or NUPENG, in Nigeria said Wednesday that about 700,000 barrels of oil a day produced by Chevron Nigeria Ltd., a local unit of U.S. oil major Chevron Corp., could be shut-in if the union launched a strike over labor issues.

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Hedge funds stick to their short-sell strategy

Some of the world’s most aggressive hedge fund managers have stuck with substantial bets that the share price of Britain’s largest financial institutions will fall, despite a four-month ban on short-selling imposed by the City regulator.

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Back from the dead, Tokyo banks buy into Wall Street

Just a few years ago, Japan’s big banks teetered on the brink of collapse and came to symbolize the moribund state of the world’s No.2 economy.

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