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New York, New York, United States (AHN) – The American International Group announced Wednesday it will repay the U.S. Federal Reserve $21 billion credit line. AIG will fund the repayment from the sales of two life insurers from outside the U.S.

After paying back what AIG borrowed from the regulator in 2008 at the onset of the financial crisis, the insurance giant will focus on retiring its obligations to the U.S. Treasury Department. The Treasury invested $48 billion in AIG and owns 80 percent of the company.

The Treasury said it plans to convert its AIG preferred shares into 1.66 billion shares of common stock by March 15.

The Treasury, according to reports, is planning to sell up to 20 percent of its AIG shares in the first quarter of 2011 as part of its unloading its stake in the insurance giant.

The stock offering is expected to raise at least $15 billion. The securities will be sold to private investors, similar to what the Treasury did with its Citigroup and General Motors holdings.

Since January, AIG shares gained 41 percent on the New York Stock Exchange to $42.22. If the Treasury sells its AIG stocks at $29 per share, finance experts said the Treasury will break even on its investment.

A Treasury official said the AIG action dovetails with Washington’s strategy to exit investments in private companies as soon as practical, while protecting taxpayers’ money.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The services already are off to a good start, with both active and reserve components meeting or exceeding their year-to-date accession goals, Curtis Gilroy, the Pentagon’s accession policy director, said.

“The improved situation in Iraq and continued support from Congress also greatly enhance recruiting efforts,” he said. “Patriotism is one of the contributing factors to recruiting success as well, as 4 out of 10 new Army recruits cite ‘service to country’ for their reason for enlisting.”

Within the active duty, the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Air Force all made 100% of their goals with 6,643; 2,291; 2,457 and 1,511 recruits respectively.

The Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force retentions are near or above the fiscal year-to-date goals through October, officials said.

Within the reserve components, the Army National Guard, the Army Reserve, the Navy Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve all were successful with more than 100% of their set goals to their credit.

As for attrition rates, losses in all reserve components were within acceptable limits, officials said.

Services may purposely come in under short-term goals with the big-picture numbers in mind, Gilroy noted, a practice that can be misinterpreted when looked at on a month-to-month basis.

“In the past, the services have, on occasion, intentionally ‘missed’ their monthly recruiting goals to ensure they don’t come in over end strength,” he explained. “This gives the false impression that recruiting goals are not being met, when in fact, for the year, the services are meeting or exceeding their goals.

“By reporting against year-to-date goals, the public is provided a more comprehensive picture of military recruiting,” he said. 


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East Lansing, MI, United States (AHN) – Kirk Cousins is as determined as any Michigan State football player to go to the Rose Bowl or any other major BCS bowl in January.

That was rather evident Saturday with a gritty performance by the Michigan State quarterback in leading his team from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Purdue 35-31 at Spartan Stadium.

By surviving a major scare from the Boilermakers, the Spartans improved to 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten to stay tied for first place. The end to the regular season comes Saturday at Penn State.

It was a game Cousins almost didn’t finish. He even sat out some offensive plays to heal his injuries.

“I’ve been battling a sprained ankle and sprained shoulder three or four weeks now and they just don’t heal when you keep playing on them,” he said. “I’ve been battling and getting a lot of treatment on it but they are very tender so when you get driven into the ground or twisted in the pile it’s not going to react too well.

“Sprains are something that you can keep playing as long as you can handle the pain but it slows you down. There was a point in time I was close to pulling myself out of the game and not trying to be the hero because it’s about the team and not me.,” Cousins said.

“But I have to give credit to our training staff who I talked with at halftime and they encouraged me to stay in there and I think that helped us get the win.”

Cousins was 28-of-37 for 276 yards and three touchdowns to lead MSU to the comeback victory.

“He is resilient and a competitor, he has toughness and is the leader of our football team,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. “When your leader does things, people follow. Leadership sometimes is thrust upon people, and it was certainly thrust upon him in the fourth quarter. He needed to get it done, down 15 (points); we needed to make plays somehow and someway. If you watch our sidelines it got electric there in the fourth quarter.”

“There is definitely a footwork problem because of my sprained ankle,” Cousins said. “I can’t plant my leg and pivot off it without excruciating pain so I have to play with flat feet. It makes it very tough to play a Big Ten team on basically one ankle, but when you have receivers like Mark Dell who can get separation and make difficult catches in traffic, it helps a lot.”

“It was halftime when we had to make the decision (to keep playing) because at that point the shoulder and ankle had been aggravated. We just made the decision and went for it, and after the first series I felt I could do it.,” Cousins added.

“Obviously I wasn’t at full strength but I was able to do it enough, but when you have players like this around you like Mark Dell, who is one of the best receivers in the Big Ten, and you have a blocked punt and interceptions, which we’ve had in all of our close games, it makes a bad ankle and shoulder easy to deal with because you have guys helping you out. “

When MSU, trailing 31-28, blocked a Purdue punt late in the game and recovered at the Boilermaker 3-yard line, Cousins ran it in for the winning points. It was also his first career rushing touchdown.

“You just react when you’re playing football and being an athlete,” Cousins said. “You see the seam and nothing is open so I went for it.”

“I never doubted that Kirk would get back up and keep playing, that is just how he carries himself and I have a lot of respect for that,” said MSU senior linebacker Greg Jones. “He just got up, went to the sidelines for a minute and did whatever he had to do to get back in the game.”

“He came back, at the end of the first half I believe, sort of regrouped and was OK. I thought (Andrew) Maxwell did a nice job when he was in there,” Dantonio said. “Andrew is going to be a very good quarterback for us.”

“All I have to say is that Kirk is a very tough guy,” said MSU senior linebacker Eric Gordon. “He got knocked out a couple times today but just kept coming back. I really thought Andrew Maxwell was going to be playing for the rest of the game, but that didn’t happen. I don’t know exactly what happened to Kirk, but he has toughness and it was good to see him earn a rushing touchdown.”

Cousins enjoyed his seventh 200-yard passing game of the season. His three TD passes equal his career high. He passed to 10 different receivers.

Cousins had a dark moment in the first half when Ricardo Allen returned an interception 35 yards and a touchdown to give Purdue a 14-7 lead.

“We scored a touchdown on the first drive of the game so I don’t think we were flat, but suddenly it’s 7-7 and then I throw an interception that gets returned for a touchdown,” Cousins said.

“It doesn’t mean we were flat I just made a bad decision and got hit and tried to fire it in there. Next thing you know it’s 14-7 on two plays that were mistakes. When you don’t execute in football it makes things tough but we were able to execute later on in the fourth quarter.”

While Cousins used 10 different receivers he found Dell eight times for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

“Mark is a special person and a special player, he is a special talent who came here as a big-time recruit and I think people were wondering when that was going to show and we just felt so good about him if he could stay healthy this year,” Cousins said.

“He’s a tremendous football player who loves the game of football and is passionate and never gives up. We worked so hard this off-season in the indoor and outdoor facilities and driving to the Detroit area to work together just to build our chemistry.”

“Kirk is just a phenomenal player and you can see the drive and toughness he came out with,” Dell said. “With a banged up ankle he showed how much toughness he has and showed he is a leader for this team and helped us with the win.”

Cousins is now focusing on Penn State.

“We are playing for a championship next Saturday and Penn State is going to be ready to go and they have a great football team and it’s going to be a challenge playing against them,” Cousins said. ” But we are playing for a championship, which is something special, and 10 wins is also special. We’ve talked a lot about leaving a legacy here in our time and we want to leave something that people will remember, and we have a chance to do that next weekend.”

By the way, bad ankle or not, Cousins plans on playing at Penn State.

“I think with a week to heal and with our trainers we will get a plan together and be ready to go,” he said. “With only one week left there’s not really a reason to baby it because we have a month off after that so we are going to give it all we got because that’s it and we have a lot to play for.”

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The House Ethics Committee continued its hearing Monday on alleged violations committed by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), who had asked to delay the trial so he could set up a legal defense fund.

Rangel, a 21-term lawmaker and the former chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, is accused of more than a dozen ethics violations including failing to report income in his financial disclosure forms.

The congressman left the hearing after telling the committee he needed time to raise money for a new lawyer. The firm that had represented Rangel during the panel’s two-year investigation withdrew last month. He has already spent $2 million and needs $1 million to obtain counsel.

In his remarks during the hearing, Rangel emphatically accused the committee of denying him due process. He said he had been asking for more time since his lawyer withdrew, and that the committee informed him he could set up a legal defense fund only two weeks ago.

“I have been asking for this matter to be heard,” Rangel said. “My family has gone through hell. I have not been able to explain my position ever because of rules of confidentiality. Each time I’ve asked for a hearing, did any of you believe I was asking for a hearing without counsel?”

“I had hoped that you would do it before the Democratic primary. It would have been helpful if you did it before the general election,” added the lawmaker, who won re-election by a landslide.

Rangel criticized the panel for taking too long in their probe and then telling him there was not time to postpone proceedings so he could obtain a lawyer. He said his fellow Democrats want his hearing held before the end of the session.

The committee members, led by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), met behind closed doors to discuss Rangel’s request but later decided to move forward with the public trial.

Lofgren explained that Rangel had repeatedly sought and received guidance from the committee on how he could pay for legal fees.

Rangel is not allowed to receive pro bono representation and the committee is not authorized to force the congressman’s lawyer to return and defend him during the hearing.

“We are prepared to proceed today, we understand that Mr. Rangel has indicated he does not intend to participate,” said Lofgren, also chair of the adjudicatory subcommittee. “No conclusions can be drawn by the fact that Mr. Rangel has decided not to participate in this meeting.”

Rangel, 80, stepped down as chair of the Ways and Means Committee in March amid continued calls for his resignation and the ethics panel’s probe on allegations against him.

He is accused of using congressional letterhead to solicit businesses and foundations for donations to the Rangel Center at City College in New York. Lawmakers are allowed to solicit funds but without using any public resources, including the congressional letterhead.

He failed to declare income from a villa in the Dominican Republic in his tax returns, a mistake he has said was unintentional. He is charged with using four rent-controlled apartments, including one for campaign work, in one building, in violation of the building code and zoning regulations.

Rangel has paid the Internal Revenue Service at least $10,800 in back taxes. In late 2008, he hired a forensic accountant to fix other irregularities in his tax returns. He also amended his 2007 financial statements to include an account worth $250,000 at the Congressional Federal Credit Union and a portfolio fund worth at least $250,000.

Rangel’s alleged violations of disclosure rules are particularly serious, having been the longtime chairman of the House committee responsible for writing the nation’s tax laws. Among the evidence on exhibit is a document showing a wire transfer to him from the Punta Cana Yacht Club as far back as 2002.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), who early in the hearing said Rangel and Republican lawmakers had been one in asking the panel this summer that the trial be held, pointed out that Rangel should be held to a higher standard.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Houses prices dropped in nearly half of U.S. metropolitan areas during the third quarter of the year as banks stepped up foreclosures.

The lack of federal tax credits also contributed to falling house prices. The federal government had propped up house prices with an $8,000 tax credit earlier in the year, but when it expired the market deflated despite low mortgage interest rates.

Of the 155 metropolitan markets tracked by trade group National Association of Realtors, median house prices dropped in 76 markets, rose in 77 and stayed level in two.

The largest decline was the Ocala, Florida market with a 20 drop in housing prices, followed by 15 percent drops in two other Florida cities, Melbourne and Palm Bay, and in Tucson, Arizona. Areas that showed increases included Burlington, Vermont at 18 percent, Elmira, New York at 17 percent and Dallas at 14 percent.

Realtors said that nationwide sales of distressed properties, which include properties in foreclosure, or at risk of foreclosure, accounted for 34 percent of Q3 transactions up from 30 percent a year earlier.

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Oakland, CA, United States (NewsBahn) – Some 152 people were arrested Friday night after hundreds of people protesting the sentence given a white former police officer in the shooting death of a black man erupted into violence.

Protesters threw bottles and rocks and broke vehicle windows after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry sentenced Johannes Mehserle, a former officer for Bay Area Rapid Transit, to two years in prison for killing Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day 2009.

With credit for time served, Mehserle could be out in seven months.

Mehserle had testified that he had intended to use a Taser on Grant, who he said was resisting arrest, but pulled his pistol by mistake. The shooting was captured on a bystander’s cell phone camera.

The protest had begun peacefully but turned violent after police turned away a group estimated at 300 to 500 attempting to march to the BART station where the shooting occurred. After a disturbance in July after Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, police had met with groups to agree on a route for the Friday demonstration.

Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts declared the march an unlawful assembly after a protestor took a gun away from a police officer. Another officer had been hit by a car.

“I want to be clear that people have a right to assemble, a right to protest and a right to free speech,” he said. “But people do not have a right to tear this city up. Oakland already has a lot of pain, and it’s not fair. This city has been torn up too many times.”

During the sentencing hearing earlier Friday, Wanda Johnson, Grant’s mother, had asked Perry to sentence Mehserle to 14 years in prison. After the judge announced the sentence, the Grants’ family attorney, John Burris, described the sentence as “a punch in the stomach.”

The defense had requested probation.

A conviction for involuntary manslaughter normally carries a four-year sentence.

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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates David Rosenberg – Less than a year after Dubai World holding company shocked global investors by asking to delay repayment of its debt, money from abroad is flowing back to the Middle East.

But the region still has a long way to go before it returns to the boom years that spawned real estate projects constructed on palm-shaped islands and Abu Dhabi’s $22 billion zero-carbon city.

Governments and companies around the Arab Middle East are raising cash in the debt and equity markets as economic growth returns, oil prices climb and Dubai moves forward in settling its debt woes. The Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corp. predicts that foreign direct investment (FDI) will grow 12 percent this year to $88.8 billion from a depressed 2009.

But foreign investment remains below its pre-crisis levels and much of the capital reaching the region is cash held abroad by Gulf governments that is being repatriated to fund local development projects, Simon Kitchen, strategist for EFG-Hermes in Cairo, told The Media Line.

“In the Gulf, you have governments with big foreign financial assets, which they have been selling to invest in real assets in their own economies. Strictly speaking, that’s not foreign investment, but it contributes to the figures,” Kitchen said. “Still, we’ve seen a recovery in Egypt and other countries of the region.”

Foreign investment is crucial for the Middle East, which needs to stoke economic growth to create jobs for a burgeoning population. Oil-poor countries, such as Egypt and Morocco, don’t have the capital to build homes, factories and infrastructure, while richer ones need know-how from overseas, which usually comes in the form of joint ventures involving infusions of cash and technology by the foreign partner.

The Middle East wasn’t as badly shaken by the global financial crisis as Europe and the United States. But Dubai’s debt woes not only underscored the emirate’s dangerous degree of leveraging but also the absence of financial transparency throughout the region. FDI dropped 18 percent in 2009, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to which Dubai belongs, plunging 77 percent.

The International Monetary Fund forecasts a 4.2 percent increase in gross domestic product this year for the region stretching from Morocco to Pakistan, a figure slightly below the pace for emerging markets around the world but almost double the 2009 level. The price of oil, which drives the key economies of the Gulf, hovered between $70 and $80 most of this year before breaking out higher last month. On Thursday, Brent crude was trading at a six-month high of $87.40 a barrel.

Meanwhile, some measure of investor confidence has returned to the region. Dubai World said Oct. 27 it reached terms with the last of its creditors to convert some of its $23 billion debt to equity. On Nov. 2, Moody’s upgraded the debt outlook for Dubai-based DP World, one of the world’s biggest port operators, to “positive,” citing the company’s debt reduction plans. In September, Dubai itself returned to the debt markets for the first time since the Dubai World crisis, selling $1.25 billion in bonds.

On Wednesday, the UAE telecoms group Etisalat, the Gulf’s No. 2 telecoms group, set terms to buy a stake in Kuwait’s Zain in a $12 billion deal. Zain is the Gulf Arab region’s third-biggest telecoms firm. In the third quarter, mergers and acquisitions activity in the Middle East reached a record $15 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Still, not all is rosy. Foreign direct investment remains well below pre-crisis levels, and other investment flows are negative, particularly for the UAE and Kuwait, the Washington-based Institute for International Finance said in an Oct. 27 report.

Meanwhile, financial investors still worry about debt troubles at the network of state-affiliated companies known as Dubai Inc. Not long after Dubai World came to terms with its creditors, Dubai Holding requested another delay in repaying a $555 million loan. All told, Dubai’s government and its companies are sitting on about $100 billion in debt.

“The fundamental issues are not yet resolved, like real estate and the banking sector, which are still a drag on the economy and a disincentive for people to invest. We’ll get through these issues and, when we do, people will start to invest,” Paul Cooper, managing director of Sarasin-Alpen & Partners, told The Media Line.

Low interest rates and excess liquidity in the developed world have lured foreign investors into higher-paying but riskier investments such as Dubai bonds, said Kitchen of EFG-Hermes. But the region still suffers from problems such as poor corporate governance and low levels of transparency that gives investors cold feet, analysts said.

Investors are also deterred by the fact that the Gulf’s markets aren’t represented in the leading global benchmark indexes, such as MSCI’s, which are used by institutional investors to allocate their portfolios, said Cooper. Standard & Poor’s recently added UAE stocks to its secondary emerging markets index, but the big break won’t come until MSCI does the same, he said. Qatar, Kuwait and UAE have all taken steps in that direction, he added.

“It’s probably premature to say there is a real recovery,” said Cooper. There may be one on the way, but “that’s a story for 2011.”

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