GOOD DAY FOR: Shorting Circuit, after electronics retailer Circuit City filed for bankruptcy. The chain said last week it would close 155 stores, or a fifth of its locations. Circuit City, along with being hit by the credit crunch, has also been losing market share to larger competitors Best Buy and Walmart. Its stock closed at 25 cents a share last week. (Bloomberg)
BAD DAY FOR: Risky business, after the U.S. government increased the amount of its bailout of insurer AIG to $150 billion, from $85 billion. The new deal reduces the loan portion to $60 billion and adds the purchase of $40 billion of preferred shares and $52.5 billion of mortgage-backed securities. AIG also reported a record $24.5 billion quarterly loss. “AIG keeps getting hit square between the eyes by the housing-finance meltdown,” said Morningstar analyst Bill Bergman. “Risk controls at the company were clearly inadequate.” (Bloomberg)
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Quiz of The Week: 14 – 20 FebruaryQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Do the Freemasons have too much sway in the police force?Podcast Plus, what does the growing popularity of prediction markets mean for the future? And why are UK film and TV workers struggling?
-
Properties of the week: pretty thatched cottagesThe Week Recommends Featuring homes in West Sussex, Dorset and Suffolk
