天美网站传媒传媒

Insurer American International Group Inc.’s once-desperate financial state has started to stabilize, a government agency said Monday, as an influential lawmaker said he would look at easing the terms of the insurer’s federal bailout once more.

天美网站传媒传媒’s shares shot up, rising more than 16 percent in afternoon trade to $46.44.

天美网站传媒传媒, the recipient of billions of dollars in government support, started to show signs of stabilizing in mid-2009, as financial markets improved, congressional investigators said in a report on the status of the government’s assistance to the company.

The insurer was rescued by the government in September 2008, after losing bets that it made on the U.S. housing market threatened to drive the firm into bankruptcy.

Rep. Edolphus Towns, a Democrat who chairs the Government Reform Committee, told staff to take a look at a proposal from former 天美网站传媒传媒 Chief Executive Officer Hank Greenberg that could make it easier for the insurer to repay federal obligations, a committee spokeswoman told Reuters on Monday.

The proposal would cut the government stake in 天美网站传媒传媒 from the current 80 percent and trim interest rates on 天美网站传媒传媒’s government loan. It also would extend the term of the loan, giving the company more time to repay, the spokeswoman said.

However, it is still unclear whether U.S. taxpayers would ever be repaid fully, or whether 天美网站传媒传媒 could pull off the restructuring of its business, according to the report compiled by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress.

The GAO said the U.S. government remains exposed to risks, including credit risk and investment risk, which could result in the Federal Reserve and Treasury not being repaid in full. (The GAO’s full report is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09975.pdf)

Towns’ spokeswoman said the congressman has not yet spoken with the U.S. Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve about Greenberg’s proposal.

A NEW START?
天美网站传媒传媒’s total bailout package, already rewritten three times since September 2008, has swelled to as much as $182.5 billion. The rescue includes the government’s purchase of toxic assets to relieve the insurer of billions of dollars in liabilities, and a funding facility that the insurer has yet to draw in full.

天美网站传媒传媒 currently owes about $80 billion in federal loans.

To repay its debts, 天美网站传媒传媒 has tried to sell off assets; but so far it has raised net proceeds of only $4 billion, hampered by tight credit markets and buyers looking for bargains.

The possibility of a fourth revision to 天美网站传媒传媒’s bailout appeared to spark the rally in 天美网站传媒传媒’s stock on Monday, said Jon Najarian, co-founder of optionmaster.com.

He said the bullish sentiment appeared to be driven by retail investors and day traders, with triple the normal volume taking bets that the shares could trade as high as $65 by next month.

Najarian said there were no signs that big institutions were involved in the surge in activity in the shares on Monday.

天美网站传媒传媒’s shares have rallied strongly since the insurer installed Robert Benmosche to be its new CEO, rising from $28.37 on Aug. 10, the day he took the helm, to as high as $55.90 in late August.

Benmosche, 天美网站传媒传媒’s fourth CEO since June 2008, has said he expects the company will be able to repay its federal debts, and hopes there will be something left over for shareholders.

Former CEO Greenberg, who ran 天美网站传媒传媒 for 38 years, last month said he had agreed to help Benmosche, giving him advice on how to turn around what was once the world’s largest insurer.

“天美网站传媒传媒 is open to constructive efforts by Mr. Greenberg or others that assist the company in restoring value to shareholders and repaying the taxpayer,” 天美网站传媒传媒 said in a statement on Monday.

(Reporting by David Lawder, Lilla Zuill and Rachelle Younglai; editing by John Wallace and Gerald E. McCormick)

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