bailout

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.

Approximately 60% of first-year U.S. senators and 40% of House of Representatives freshmen are worth at least $1 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That makes them far richer than most of the Americans they represent: Just 1% of the country's population has reached the $1 million mark.

The number of federally insured banks at risk of failing rose to 884 -- nearly 12% -- in the last quarter of 2010, reaching the highest level in 18 years.

Back in 2009, General Motors applied to the Department of Energy for $14.4 billion in loans to help it manufacture more fuel-efficient vehicles. Today, with the automaker making big strides in turning around its business, GM said it no longer needs or wants the money.

Hedge fund manager John Paulson told Paulson & Co. clients that the company made more than $1 billion during the past 18 months on its investment in Citigroup, Bloomberg News reported, citing Paulson's letter to clients this month.

With U.S. automotive dominance waning, a new moniker has emerged: the "Detroit Three." Still, don't count out Ford, GM or Chrysler. Their post-recession future looks strong, thanks to some agonizing restructuring. Now, they can be profitable selling fewer cars.

Just a day after a successful bond auction in Portugal, Spain hopes to raise up to $3.9 billion in its first debt auction of the year. The auction will be a key test of investor appetite for European bonds.

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?

In a key test of whether it will be able to raise the %u20AC20 billion it needs to avoid a bailout, the Portuguese government hopes to sell %u20AC1.25 billion in a bond auction Wednesday. Will Portugal end up following the path of Ireland and Greece?

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.