Andrew Cuomo Wimps Out on AIG Names

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has a secret! AIG has given him a list of employees who received controversial bonuses after the insurer's continued bailouts — but he won't name names.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has a secret! AIG has given him a list of employees who received controversial bonuses after the insurer's continued bailouts — but he won't name names.
It was Charles Rangel, as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who introduced the legislation today imposing a 90 percent tax on the bonuses paid to execs at bailed-out companies. "These people are getting away with murder," Rangel proclaimed on the House floor earlier today during the debate over the…
• The AIG mess rolls on. Lawmakers are up in arms. Voters are pissed. Tim Geithner is on the defensive. President Obama's agenda has been disrupted. And AIG chief Ed Liddy will get to see some of the emotion first hand when he turns up on Capitol Hill later today to face the music. [NYT, WSJ, BN]
• Billions used to…
• The epic fallout from AIG's decision to pay out bonuses enters a second day: Andrew Cuomo says he plans to subpoena company execs, the Obama administration is scrambling to cool emotions, but clearly his influence is limited. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa has suggested that AIG execs follow a "Japanese model" and…
• Following yesterday's stock market surge, some analysts see a comeback in the making. Believe it when you see it. [CNN]
• Investors pulled $11 billion out of hedge funds in February. [BN]
• Related: hedge funds may slash 20,000 jobs around the world this year. [DB]
• Even the junky little banks that should have…
Remember those Merrill Lynch junkets to the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, which the Orlando-Sentinel first revealed last month and which we reported on again last week? Yea, well, it looks like Merrill is now in a bit of trouble. The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program has…
• The unemployment rate jumped to 8.1% last month, the highest it's been since December 1983 and above expectations for an 8% rate. [WSJ, NYT, BN]
• A "trading irregularity" at Merrill may have cost the firm hundreds of millions of dollars. Naturally, no one seemed to notice any of this until after the bank was…
• Stocks appear positioned to rise this morning after tumbling to their worst levels in more than a decade during yesterday's trading session. [CNN, MW]
• More on what the government is trying to do with the billions it's been pumping into AIG. Meanwhile, the insurance giant's founder, Hank Greenberg, has filed suit…
• The Treasury Department announced a plan to save Citigroup from near-certain doom. The government will take a 36 percent stake in the company, three-quarters of the bank's shareholders will be wiped out, and the board will be overhauled. Vikram Pandit? He keeps his job. [WSJ, BN, NYT]
• New GDP figures indicate "the…
• Citigroup is close to a pact to boost the government's stake in the failing bank to as much as 40%; Vikram Pandit's job, however, should be safe. [WSJ, NYP]
• More on what the Obama administration is hoping to find out when it begins conducting the "stress tests" to see how banks hold up during a crisis. [WSJ]
• RBS…
• Citi chief Vikram Pandit is still working out the details of a rescue package that would turn over as much as 40% of the bank to the federal government. He'd really love to hang on to his job as part of the deal, though. [WSJ]
• In a last-ditch effort to raise cash, Citigroup is looking to sell off both its Japanese…
• As part of the rescue plan currently under discussion in Washington, the government would end up with 40 percent of Citigroup, which isn't quite the same as nationalizing it, but is pretty darn close. [NYT]
• JPMorgan Chase cut its dividend to a nickel yesterday. [AP]
• John Thain spent six hours answering Andrew…
• The government is in talks with Citigroup to raise its stake in the beleaguered bank to between 25 and 40 percent. [WSJ, DB]
• Federal regulators plan to review the financial condition of 20 banks this week as part of a round of "stress tests." [NYT, BN]
• Regulators have seized Allen Stanford's companies in Antigua…
• President Obama is unveiling a $75 billion plan today to help struggling homeowners. A press conference is scheduled for 12:15pm. [WSJ, NYT, CNN]
• The Dow fell 3.8% yesterday to close at its lowest point since November. How today goes hinges on the response to Obama's housing rescue plan. [CNN]
• More on the life…
• After their CEOs took a pounding yesterday, it's possible that banks like JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley would just as soon give the bailout money back rather than have to battle legislators at every turn. [BN]
• More on yesterday's Wall Street-Washington showdown. [WSJ]
• Nearly 700 people made $1 million or more at…
Congress lived the dream today, just straight-up yelling at some bankers. Watch and enjoy the shaming and grandstanding!
• Eight bank CEOs will appear in front of the House this morning to defend their use of billions in bailout money. Expect serious fireworks. [Reuters, BN, WSJ]
• Four top execs at Merrill Lynch took home $121 million in bonuses just before the firm was sold to Bank of America. [WSJ, BN, NYDN]
• More on the lukewarm…
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's revamped bailout plan doesn't appear to be providing Wall Street with much reassurance that the economy's going to get better anytime soon. The stock market has been plunging since Geithner's speech this morning, and the Dow is now down close to 350 points. [CNN, MW, BN]