美國國際集團故態(tài)復萌

????美國國際集團（AIG）由于在美國房地產市場投下重注而瀕臨破產不過是幾年前才發(fā)生的事情?！度A爾街日報》（The Wall Street Journal）本周報道稱，如今，這家保險公司正計劃重返美國房產投資領域。

????2008年，聯(lián)邦政府通過一筆價值1,823億美元的緊急救援資金，拯救了大廈將傾的美國國際集團，但這家公司現(xiàn)已償還了“山姆大叔”的這筆貸款。今年到目前為止，該公司股價上漲了近32%。如今，財政基礎更為堅實的美國國際集團似乎正在閑庭信步般重回風險領域。

????這家保險公司正在投資美國公寓市場——最近，房租的上漲正驅使一大批海外和美國投資者搶購多戶型房產。美國國際集團現(xiàn)在的賭注或許不如金融危機爆發(fā)前那般令人嘆為觀止?！度A爾街日報》指出，該公司的房產投資組合曾經包括一處位于佛蒙特州的滑雪別墅群，上海的數棟寫字樓和位于東京的一座購物中心。

????但規(guī)模較小的投資可能成為大手筆投資的前奏。盡管如此，美國國際集團重新投資房產這一事實無論如何都具有某種象征意義。這家依然由美國政府持有70%股權的保險公司仍然清楚地記得金融危機和隨之而來的經濟衰退那段暴風驟雨般的歲月。

使用自有資金大手筆下注

????在2007年—2008年金融危機之后的幾年中，自營交易已變成一個骯臟的字眼。以竭力阻止自營交易而著稱的美聯(lián)儲前主席保羅?沃爾克聲稱，用自有資本進行大宗交易的公司在這場危機中扮演了一個重要角色。

????但就在華盛頓爭辯“沃爾克規(guī)則”的實施細則之際，綽號“倫敦鯨”的摩根大通公司（JP Morgan Chase）交易員布魯諾?伊克賽爾的行為使銀行是否在使用自有資金承受過度風險這一問題進行的激烈討論進一步升溫。這位交易員囤積的信用違約掉期（CDS）空頭頭寸大得驚人，實際上是在賭一組公司的信譽將會改善，而不是惡化。對沖基金經理和證劵交易商表示，這些交易的規(guī)模足以影響市場指數，類似于用自有資金進行賭博。

????沃爾克規(guī)則是《多德-弗蘭克金融改革法案》（Dodd-Frank Act）的一部分，這項法案限制獲得政府支持的銀行從事冒險行為，它在次貸市場崩潰引發(fā)自大蕭條以來最嚴重的金融危機之后才獲得了通過。

????到目前為止，還沒有人稱摩根大通或這位交易員的行為不當。盡管如此，如此巨大的“風險容量”讓人不由得想起危機爆發(fā)前幾年的情形。它清楚無誤地說明，華爾街愛冒風險的偏好一直存在。

次貸債券重現(xiàn)華爾街

????這些曾經引爆美國房市的有毒住房債券現(xiàn)在顯然再次成為了市場的寵兒。正如《華爾街日報》所報道的那樣，一些由次級貸款支持、在危機前發(fā)放給借款人（其信用歷史參差不齊）的不良債券價格今年已經出現(xiàn)了兩位數百分比的增幅。

????金融危機期間，投資者基本上避免購買此類債券。這些債券的復蘇顯示，投資者的風險偏好正在回歸。

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AIG gets back in the game

????It was only a few years ago that American International Group (AIG) nearly went bankrupt as a result of outsized bets on the U.S. housing and real-estate market. Today, the insurer is planning to return to U.S. property investing, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.

????In 2008, the federal government rescued AIG through a $182.3 billion bailout, but the company has since repaid Uncle Sam. Its stock has risen nearly 32% so far this year. Now on firmer financial footing, it seems as though AIG is easing its way back into risk.

????The insurer is investing in the U.S. apartment market – joining the plethora of foreign and U.S. investors that have recently been snapping up multi-family properties as the price of rentals rise. AIG's bet might not be as grandiose as its pre-financial crisis days, given, as the Journal notes, its portfolio once included a Vermont ski village, office towers in Shanghai and a Tokyo shopping mall.

????But smaller investments could lead to bigger ones. And the fact that AIG has resumed property investing is nevertheless symbolic. The insurer, which is still 70% owned by the U.S. government, is still fresh in the memories of those tumultuous months of the financial crisis and the recession that followed.

Big bets with bank cash

????Propriety trading has become a dirty word in the years following the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker is known for trying to put a stop to it, arguing that firms making big trades with their own capital played a key role in the crisis.

????But as Washington wrangles over implementation of the Volcker rule, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) trader Bruno Iksil, nicknamed the "London whale," has been fueling debate over whether banks are taking excessive risks with its own funds. The trader has amassed big positions in credit default swaps, effectively betting that the creditworthiness of a group of companies will improve and not deteriorate. Hedge-fund managers and dealers say the trades are big enough to move indexes and resemble proprietary bets.

????The Volcker rule is part of the Dodd-Frank Act, which sets limits on risk-taking by banks with government backing and was passed after the collapse of the subprime mortgage market triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

????There's no suggestion so far that JP Morgan or the trader acted improperly. Nevertheless, it's pretty clear the appetite for risk reminiscent of years prior to the crisis is ever present.

Sub-prime mortgage bonds are back

????Those toxic home loans that essentially blew up the U.S. housing market are apparently back in vogue. As The Wall Street Journal reported, prices of some distressed bonds backed by subprime loans issued before the crisis to borrowers with spotty credit histories have seen double-digit percentage gains this year.

????During the financial crisis, investors essentially avoided such bonds. Their resurgence signals that investors' appetite for risk is returning.