BUSINESS BRIEFS
Paper reports leadership change at Toyota soon
Associated Press
TOKYO — As Toyota Motor Corp. faces its biggest crisis, speculation is growing that the charismatic grandson of the company's founder may take over leadership of the automaker sooner than expected.
Japan's nationally circulated Asahi newspaper reported Tuesday that Akio Toyoda — long groomed for the top job — will replace current president Katsuaki Watanabe as soon as April.
The newspaper did not cite sources and Toyota denied any decision has been made.
CRUDE PRICES DOWN FOR 9TH DAY
HOUSTON — Crude prices tumbled yesterday following a raft of bad economic news and growing stockpiles of unused gasoline that suggested demand for energy has continued to erode.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery fell $3.63 to settle at $35.35 in a shortened day of trading. Prices fell as low as $35.13 just before the market closed for the holiday.
It was the ninth straight day that crude has fallen.
AIG BUYS $16B IN INVESTMENTS
NEW YORK — Insurer American International Group Inc. said yesterday it purchased $16 billion of complex financial instruments in an effort to further reduce its exposure to insurance guarantees written against them.
AIG bought about $16 billion in investments known as collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, through a financing company set up by the insurer and the government to help relieve AIG of its exposure to the riskiest portion of the credit markets.
SALE OF INDYMAC BANK NEARS
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are moving to sell the remnants of failed IndyMac Bank before year end, mopping up from the second-largest bank failure this year.
It was unclear yesterday whether the government would sell off IndyMac as a whole or in pieces, and an announcement wasn't expected until tomorrow at the earliest.
The Pasadena, Calif-based lender, which specialized in loans made with little down payment or proof of assets, went under in July as the U.S. housing market bubble collapsed.
IndyMac had about $32 billion in assets when it was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and renamed IndyMac Federal Bank.
Its collapse is expected to cost the federal bank insurance fund $8.9 billion.
Final bids for IndyMac's assets were due Dec. 15. The company has 33 bank branches in Southern California with about $6 billion in deposits, about half of the company's total at the time of its failure.
U.S. AUTO BAILOUT MAY HURT MEXICO
MEXICO CITY — The U.S. auto bailout lifts the threat of imminent collapse from plants that have been a steady source of jobs in Mexico.
But the rescue, backed by American taxpayers, is likely to slow investment in Mexico's auto industry, one of the fastest growing in the world.
Lured by low labor costs, Detroit's automakers have been critical to an industry that now makes up 3 percent of Mexico's gross domestic product and accounts for a fifth of its exports. The 13 plants run by Ford, Chrysler and GM account for more than 50 percent of Mexico's auto production.
While nothing in the $17.4 billion U.S. government loan package prohibits it, expansion outside of the United States using taxpayer money would most likely lead to a huge backlash.
Lawmakers have made clear they expect U.S. carmakers to keep jobs at home. And they have leverage: $4 billion of the auto loan package will only be made available if Congress votes to release $350 billion that remains in the financial industry bailout fund.
