Do you have any interest in insurance companies amidst the turmoil, disaster and current crises in Japan? A crises that followed so closely on the heals of the destruction of the New Zealand city of ChristChurch by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. Perhaps you think this is even a poorer idea than catching that proverbial falling knife we are always hearing about when stock prices are collapsing.

Certainly there will be billions of dollars in claims. On the other hand, perhaps the burden will be spread around the globe to reinsurer's such that none is struck too hard and this is a buying opportunity. After all, when the dust settles, insurers will cry for mercy, and in particular, rate increases. It is also likely those that never saw the need for insurance have been awakened and demand will increase.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Insurance Stock Review -- Part 2

Chasing Value: Insurance Stock Review -- Part 2 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Insured Profits or a Mountain of Risk?

Chasing Value: Insured Profits or a Mountain of Risk? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Buffett's Next Buys -- You Pick'em

Serious Money: Buffett's Next Buys -- You Pick'em originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: AIG Takeover by Fairholme Capital?

Serious Money: AIG Takeover by Fairholme Capital? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

American International Group (AIG - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company reported fiscal-Q3 earnings this morning, posting a loss of $2.4 billion, or $17.62 per share, hurt in part by a $1.84 billion loss ($13.65 per share) from discontinued operations, a $1.3 billion deferred tax asset valuation allowance charge, a $1.3 billion goodwill impairment charge on pending sale of AIG Star and AIG Edison. Excluding one-time items, AIG lost $1.47 per share on revenue of $19.09 billion.

Most analysts declined to forecast quarterly results for AIG, due in no small part to its ongoing divestment of some assets to pay off its government bailout. The reason AIG isn't down more on this news is that these kinds of results are expected right now from the insurance behemoth. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on AIG.

Continue reading AIG Slips on Huge Q3 Loss

AIG Slips on Huge Q3 Loss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

American International Group (AIG) officials are in talks with the U.S. Treasury Department on ways for AIG to regain its independence, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Of all the government bailouts, AIG was the worse one. In the heyday of the housing bubble, AIG insured billions in shaky loans, loans that blew up when the housing bubble burst. As a consequence, the government has shifted $182.3 billion of taxpayer money into AIG to keep it afloat. Now, two years later, the government is looking for ways to get its money back.

Continue reading AIG Devises a Plan to Reduce Government Ownership

AIG Devises a Plan to Reduce Government Ownership originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: No Double-Dip Recession

Chasing Value: No Double-Dip Recession originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Although the name American International Group (AIG) is considered a four-letter word by many Americans who are disgusted with the $182.3 billion bailout the company received from the U.S. government, traders on Wall Street seem to be warming up to the idea of buying this pariah's stock once again.

The question is...should you be buying this stock too? I say yes. After all, isn't it about time you benefited from this bailout?

Let's take a look at a few fundamental factors that look promising for the company and what we can learn from the stock chart itself.

Continue reading Consider Buying AIG on Government Exit

Consider Buying AIG on Government Exit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading AIG Rises on IPO Rumors

AIG Rises on IPO Rumors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With the broader market see-sawing between positive and negative territory, American International Group (AIG) has been consistently higher since the open. Currently, in mid-afternoon trading, the shares are up more than 4% on reports that the company may be restructuring the $35.5 billion sale of its AIA Group to Prudential of the U.K.

Options traders are taking this opportunity to roll existing positions in AIG from the soon-to-expire May series to the June series. Specifically, 9,000 May 55 calls have been sold to close for 27 cents each and 7,000 of the June 55 calls have been bought to open for $1.10. The trader in question effectively paid 87 cents per trade to roll these positions to the later-dated series.

Continue reading Option Buyers Extend Their AIG Bet

Option Buyers Extend Their AIG Bet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 May 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading American International Group Turns a First-Quarter Profit

American International Group Turns a First-Quarter Profit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 May 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded Boeing (BA) to outperform from market perform. The firm is more confident about the company's earnings growth going forward.
• Oppenheimer upgraded H&R Block (HRB) to outperform from perform on expectations the company will improve performance in 2011. The firm has a $22 price target for shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded SunTrust (STI) to buy from hold to reflect valuation and expectations the company's credit will improve. The firm raised its target for shares to $34 from $29.
• Children's Place (PLCE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Taubman Centers (TCO) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS.
• Cavium Networks (CAVM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, HRB, STI, NDAQ, AIG, CHH, ORCL, HCN, COL, MLM

Analyst Calls: BA, HRB, STI, NDAQ, AIG, CHH, ORCL, HCN, COL, MLM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading AIG Downgraded by Keefe Bruyette

AIG Downgraded by Keefe Bruyette originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading AIG Derivative Exit Costs $2 Billion

AIG Derivative Exit Costs $2 Billion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading AIG Financial Honcho to Dodge Indictment

AIG Financial Honcho to Dodge Indictment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading AIG Shareholder Lawsuit Tossed Out of Court

AIG Shareholder Lawsuit Tossed Out of Court originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Reports this week indicate that Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration's pay czar, has a darkly comic definition of "tough love." While Feinberg reduced overall cash compensation for the top earners at American International Group (AIG) by a healthy 63%, a closer look reveals that the insurance company's high-ranking employees are still pulling down the kind of eye-popping annual pay you might expect from a successful business.

Continue reading Is AIG's Chief Executive Really Doing a $3 Million Job?

Is AIG's Chief Executive Really Doing a $3 Million Job? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chubb CEO Says Bailouts Cost Insurers Opportunity

Chubb CEO Says Bailouts Cost Insurers Opportunity originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

American International Group (AIG) has gone back to the feds. The insurer pulled another $2.2 billion from its Treasury Department facility to support the property-casualty business units that will comprise the restructured company. AIG used the cash from Treasury to redeem some securities held by its insurance subsidiaries to increase liquidity and address rating agency considerations.

According to David Havens, managing director of credit trading at Nomura Securities (NMR), "AIG still needs to be cognizant of where the rating agencies stand on their solvency." He adds, in Bloomberg News, that the funds may have been sought after the company got "feedback from the rating agencies that the regulatory capital within the operating companies doesn't muster up."

Continue reading AIG to Hit Feds for Another $2 Billion

AIG to Hit Feds for Another $2 Billion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It looks like American International Group (AIG) has found another $15.5 billion. The insurance company is selling its American Life Insurance Co. division to MetLife (MET) for $6.8 billion in cash and $8.7 billion in equities. Approximately $9 billion from this sale will be used to repay funds provided by the Federal Reserve, totaling $182.3 billion. This follows the announcement of Prudential's $35.5 billion designs on AIG's Asian operations.

Robert Haines, analyst at CreditSights, tells Bloomberg News, "This is a sizeable transaction." He continues, "It demonstrates they're making some tangible progress on their plan to divest assets."

Continue reading MetLife to Spend $15 Billion on AIG Life Division

MetLife to Spend $15 Billion on AIG Life Division originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.