AIG plans to pay millions in worker bonuses, a move that has angered lawmakers who have given the insurer bailout billions. Lawmakers weigh the options in dealing with AIG.
Watch the first few minutes of the video broadcast – Obama, Congress Blast AIG Plans for Employee Bonuses
Tip of the iceberg.
As soon as you hand out “free” money, the system is broken.
Better to have let this insurance company go into bankruptcy. Only the banks should have been propped up.
Or should they?
The Canadian banks are OK.
Royal Bank, Canada’s biggest bank by assets, is now seventh-largest in North America after tripling assets in the past decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from company filings. …
Toronto-Dominion, Scotiabank and Bank of Montreal rank eight, ninth and 10th.
Canadian banks have remained profitable, outperforming their peers, because of tighter government restrictions on lending and capital requirements. The country’s six biggest lenders reported less than $20-billion in debt-related writedowns since the credit crisis began in 2007, about 2% of the US$887.1-billion recorded by banks and brokerages worldwide. …
While New York-based Citigroup Inc. lost US$17.3-billion in the fourth quarter, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. had a net loss of US$2.55-billion and Bank of America Corp., the biggest by assets, lost US$1.79-billion, Canada’s six largest banks were profitable in the quarter ended Jan. 31, and each beat analyst estimates.
Canada’s performance has been noticed. U.S. President Barack Obama said in a February interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that Canada has been “a pretty good manager of the financial system and the economy.” In October, the World Economic Forum ranked Canada as the soundest financial system.
Rick McCharles 
AIG is unique, and once you understand the situation better, it makes sense, in a sick sort of way:
AIG is the insurance and pension provider for the US Government, and the Senate and Congress…
Makes more sense now, doesn’t it…
I only barely understand why the BANKS must not be allowed to fail.
Certainly I have no idea why AIG is unique. Or cannot fail.
After this much bad publicity, I assume that corporation will be deconstructed. Divided into a number of smaller corporations.
Also, and I don’t want to say I told you so, but it seems that a certain blogger-extraordinaire who was a pretty fair advocate for the US freemarket, capitalist financial system, and even, if I may go so far, a slight Canada-socialist basher, could be changing his tune?
Hmmm…
Good point. My line on the Canadian banks was that they bought off the Canadian government with the highest business taxes in the nation … in exchange for protection against the American banks moving in on them.
Just by LUCK the Socialist regulation inefficiencies protected them against making the same mistakes as the American banks.
Whew!
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