AIG

In order to avoid new federal rules and heightened scrutiny from regulators, MetLife has decided to sell its banking unit. That's a smart move for the nation's largest life insurer, and keeps it on a level playing field with its competitors.

During the past month, AIG stock fell nearly 10% drop after an announcement that the government would sell some of its stake in the insurance giant. The Treasury's ownership in the company has declined from 92% to 77%, but the prospect of its future sell-offs are holding the stock down.

With a high ROI and steadily increasing dividends, insurance holding company AmTrust Financial Services is poised to pay off for investors.

An 8.9 earthquake rocked Japan to its core, rattling businesses with operations in the affected areas. But the epicenter's distance from Tokyo saved many businesses from the worst of the damage. Could one of the aftershocks be an economic stimulus for the debt-ridden country?

AIG is offering $15.7 billion for a heap of toxic mortgage bonds that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York took off its hands at the peak of the financial crisis in 2008. The move is intended to reduce the amount of government money that AIG, the recipient of the largest federal bailout during the financial crisis, holds.

Republicans in the House of Representatives voted Thursday to eliminate the Obama administration's "car czar," as well as the "pay czar" who oversees compensation at companies bailed out with TARP money, and seven other presidential advisers.

In a second attempt to sell its 97.6% stake in Nan Shan Life Insurance, a Taiwanese insurer, American International Group has agreed to a $2.16 billion deal with the Ruen Chen consortium. But regulators nixed another sale agreement just five months ago. Will this deal go through?

American International Group will payout a $450 million settlement to seven insurance companies over allegations it under-reported workers' compensation policy premiums.

AIG, which wants to spin off its Taiwan-based Nan Shan Life Insurance unit, has a few live ones nibbling on the line to snap it up, according to a Bloomberg report. The company has disclosed in an SEC filing that Nan Shan has attracted unsolicited offers ranging from $2.15 billion to $3 billion.

Insurance giant American International Group on Wednesday signed an agreement with the government that details its plan to repay its government loans. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that the government plans to sell much of AIG's stock in the next few months.