US Bailout Companies Ordered to Cut Pay
TIMES ONLINE: Top executives at US companies that have not yet repaid billions of dollars of taxpayers' bailout money will be forced to take pay cuts of up to 90 per cent after a ruling by President Obama's pay czar.

The most senior 25 employees at Citigroup, Bank of America, American International Group, General Motors, Chrysler, as well as the financing arms of the two car companies, will see their basic salary fall to just 10 per cent of previous pay, with some earnings replaced with shares in the company that cannot be sold for several years.

The result of the measures will be an average remuneration reduction of 50 per cent.

The move is designed to link the personal self-interest of board members with the long-term health of the company and will be closely watched in the UK, as ministers grapple with how to limit the excesses of bonus culture at British banks. >>> Rebecca O'Connor | Thursday, October 22, 2009

Financial Disaster to Dwarf Lehman Looms as AIG Takes a Pounding
Watch video: City analyst assesses the market as FTSE falls >>>
TIMESONLINE: A financial disaster that would dwarf the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy loomed today as one of the world's biggest insurers was shaken to its foundations.

Shares in American International Group (AIG) today fell 43.28 per cent amid fears that a £42 billion rescue package might fail to materialise.

David Paterson, the New York Governor who is coordinating efforts to bolster the insurer, gave warning that the insurance giant had just one day left to resolve its financial problems before triggering "catastrophe".

AIG, once the world's largest insurance company, has 116,000 staff — four times more than Lehman Brothers, the US investment bank that filed for bankruptcy yesterday — and its collapse could have a cataclysmic effect on global markets.

AIG provides insurance against complex financial instruments going bust, including mortgage-backed securities. Financial Disaster to Dwarf Lehman Looms as AIG Takes a Pounding >>> By Christine Seib | September 16, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
Where should you stash your cash? >>> By Emma Simon | September 16, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>