It Figures

2,000

Nearly 2,000 storm victims had been rescued in Galveston, Texas, in the course of nearly 500 missions as of Sept. 14, the day after Hurricane Ike struck the island and much of the rest of the Texas coast with a fury, the Office of the Governor reported. Estimates of the number of utility customers without power in Texas due to the storm ranged from 2.4 million to four million. As of 10:00 a.m. Sept. 14, 254 shelters were open throughout the state housing more than 37,000 evacuees.

40

At press time, Hurricane Ike had been blamed for 40 deaths in Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee and in Midwest states. Eleven deaths were reported in Texas, four in Louisiana and one in Arkansas. Authorities said the death toll could rise as rescue operations continued.

$40 Billion

Seeking to stave off ratings downgrades, American International Group Inc. sought $40 billion in short-term financing from the Federal Reserve, Reuters reported. AIG has been hit by $18 billion in losses over the past three quarters from guarantees it wrote on mortgage derivatives. JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley are examining putting together a $70 billion to $75 billion credit facility for AIG, according to Reuters. AIG’s struggles mounted a day after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because of losses tied to mortgages and real estate.

$115 Million

Four former executives of AIG, including ex-CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, have agreed to settle a long-standing shareholder lawsuit for $115 million. The lawsuit was brought in 2002 by the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana, an AIG shareholder. It alleged, among other things, that certain executives and directors breached their fiduciary duties by directing business worth hundreds of millions of dollars in commissions to C.V. Starr, arguing the business should have gone directly to AIG. (Reuters)