AIG asset sale

It is difficult to fetch a good price in a fire sale, especially in this difficult economic climate, where the seller needs and wants cash, whilst the potential buyers prefer to conserve cash to weather the credit crises. Getting financing to buy will also cost more money. Companies all over the world now increasingly look to their respective governments as their godfathers to give some forms of guarantees before they take on additional ventures/risks. But he who dares wins.

So, it is good news for AIG that the US Treasury is giving it more time (5 years instead of just 2 years) to repay the loan which has now ballooned to US$150 billion (the single largest loan ever made by the US Government to a private company) from the original US$85 billion. I recall that AIG was asking for only US$40 billion when news first broke that it was heading into bankruptcy.

Where and when can we see light signalling the end of the tunnel and not the headlights of an oncoming train?

Fewer, Less or Lesser

A short lesson on grammar.

I am often amused by how often people in this region tend to mix up their comparative, in respect of "fewer, less and lesser".

Firstly,
few, fewer, fewest : are used with countable nouns, e.g. people, coins
little, less, least: are used with uncountable or abstract nouns, e.g., money, water, love, honesty

This morning, I just heard a lady speaker who speaks very fluent English say, "... less people ...". I was taught from young to say "fewer people", but it seems that in modern standard English practice, the usage of less here is increasing, rightly or wrongly.

However, what is clearly incorrect is to use lesser to mean fewer or less. It seems many do not know the difference between fewer/less and lesser,
e.g., they say. "I have lesser money", when they should say, "I have less money".
Or, "There are lesser people here" when it should be "there are fewer people here".

Lesser in fact means, "smaller, as in size or importance; inferior, e.g., a lesser evil.
Many years ago, I watched the film, "Children of the Lesser Gods" as a child. Lesser Gods clearly does not refer to fewer gods, but to gods who are inferior (to a higher or more superior god).

AIA Singapore Retrenches

It is a matter of time that AIA Singapore starts trimming off excess fats in an effort to cut costs and increase profits to pay its parent company AIG. More importantly, it has to show good numbers in order to attract "strategic" investors to take up so-called minority stakes in AIA Singapore.

I foresee that there will be more such cost-cutting measures, if there is continued loss of confidence in the company leading to a vicious circle of of reduced new businesses, reduced agency strength due to the inevitable migration of agents. And if the business forecast spells more gloom, the faster the sale to strategic investors, the better, or else, the price AIA Singapore can fetch will fall further.

It will get worse before it can get better, which takes time, and time is not on the side of AIG which has to pay back the US$143 billion (up from the original US$85 billion) it now owed the US Government.

"AIG plans to sell of most of its divisions to pay back the debt. Asset sales should be announced by year's end, Chief Executive Edward Liddy told CNNMoney.com last week".