New York Fed

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.

Before the Great Recession, U.S. consumer debt had risen fairly steadily for more than a decade. With the downturn, it finally dropped...until December's small rise. However, a longer look at the trend of ever-rising debt shows that America is still extraordinarily overextended.

The Empire State Manufacturing Index is an early peek at more comprehensive reports coming later. And the August numbers are showing tell-tale signs that the U.S. factory sector wasn't immune to the country's slowing economic expansion.

A study found big banks like Goldman Sachs and Citi temporarily lower their debt by an average of 42% at the end of quarters. After their financial reports are issued, previous debt levels are resumed. Like Lehman Brothers' Repo 105 trick, this is dangerous for investors.

MetLife may buy AIG's American Life Insurance Co. for $14 to $15 billion. If the deal goes through, $9 billion would be used to pay back the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which largely orchestrated the government's $182.3 billion bailout of AIG.

A key manufacturing measure, the Empire State Manufacturing Index, declined about 11 points to 23.51 in November, but the reading still indicates that conditions are improving for manufacturers, the New York Federal Reserve announced Monday. Readings above zero indicate manufacturing activity is...

Notch another modest positive for the U.S. economy: Initial jobless claims fell another 10,000 to 514,000 for the week ended October 10, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday. Even better, initial jobless claims have fallen about 40,000 in the past two weeks -- a substantial decline, and...