The U.S. and AIG nears agreement on new bailout package. The BOD of AIG will vote on Sunday. The revised agreement will include an additional 30B equity commitment from the government, more lenient terms on its existing preferred investment, and a lower iinterest rate on its current 60B line of credit. It will also give the FED ownership interest in two of AIG’s foreign units. Source: www.cnbc.com/id/29442377.

Two more banks failed this weekend. One in Nevada and one in Illinois. The failure in Nevada will cost the FDIC 59.1 Million dollars. No estimate on the Illinois bank. 17 banks have failed thus far in 2009. Source: Marketwatch

The FDIC will charge a one-time emergency insurance fee to replenish the agency’s insurance fund. The fee will amount to 12 Billion dollars. Source: www.marketwatch.com/news/story/FDIC-char…

Markets:

We can close the books on February. The S&P 500 index closed Friday at a 12 year low. The DOW has fallen for 6 straight months, shedding 39% of its value. The DOW has not lost this much of its value, in a 6 month period, since 1932. In February, the DOW and S&P lost 12% and 11% respectively. We are very close to a 6 handle on both indexes. Source: www.cnbc.com/id/29428052

Financial companies in the S&P 500 slipped 57% in 2008, its largest drop on record. This industry had been increasing its share of this index from 2002 through 2007, peaking at 22% in 2006. The percentage now stands at 10% and is expected to drop to 7%. Source: Bloomberg

The lowering of interest rates have not spurred home buying as fees have increased and eligibility requirements have tightened. Appraisers are finding it difficult to assign a market value to homes as they are unable to find the required 3 comparable sales over a 6 month period within a 1 mile radius of the home in question. Also, other underwriting standards have shifted from overly lax to too tight. Source: Bloomberg

U.S. demand for oil in 2008 hits a 10 year low. Source: www.cnbc.com/id/29429395

From MrKenduffy on the Yahoo message boards.