US-BUSINESS

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON - The U.S. government will boost its equity stake in Citigroup Inc to as much as 36 percent, bolstering the bank's capital base in the latest emergency effort to save the banking giant. In its third attempt to prop up Citigroup in the past five months, the government will convert up to $25 billion in preferred shares to common stock. Existing shareholders could see their ownership of the bank diluted by 74 percent.

AIG talks weigh securitizing life policies: source

NEW YORK - American International Group Inc may securitize some U.S. life insurance policies and have the interest rate on a government loan lowered, as talks continue to help the insurer deal with its financial problems, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. The U.S. government, AIG and credit rating agencies, including Moody's, S&P and A.M. Best, are in discussions, the source said, as the troubled insurer prepares to post a roughly $60 billion quarterly loss. The loss, which equates to about $460,000 per minute, would be the largest in corporate history.

BofA carries loans $44 billion above market value

NEW YORK - Bank of America Corp is carrying loans on its balance sheet marked at more than $44 billion above their fair value, the company said in its annual report filed with U.S. regulators on Friday. The bank said it ended 2008 with $886.2 billion in loans, but estimated the fair value -- or market price -- for these loans as $841.6 billion.

GE slashing payout to protect "flexibility"

BOSTON - General Electric Co plans to cut its quarterly dividend by 68 percent to 10 cents a share, starting in the second half of 2009, a move that it said would provide it with more "flexibility" in the face of a recession. The U.S. conglomerate said that it had no plans to raise additional equity, and that reducing its dividend from 31 cents a share would save it about $9 billion a year.

Britain's HSBC plans $17 billion share sale: report

SINGAPORE in a share sale aimed at propping up its capital base in order to cope with the economic crisis, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. The FT said the share issue would likely be announced alongside its full-year 2008 results due Monday.

U.S. charges Stanford with massive Ponzi scheme

HOUSTON - U.S. securities regulators on Friday accused Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, his college roommate and three of their companies of carrying out a "massive Ponzi scheme" over at least a decade and misappropriating at least $1.6 billion of investors' money. Meanwhile, a Houston judge ruled on Friday that Laura Pendergest-Holt, the only person arrested in the $8 billion Allen Stanford fraud investigation, could walk free after she posted a $300,000 bond.

American Express revises fourth quarter profit upward

NEW YORK - American Express Co revised upward its fourth quarter profit by almost 40 percent to $240 million, due to a hedge accounting error, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The credit card company revised its fourth-quarter profit to $240 million or 21 cents a share, from the $172 million or 15 cents a share it stated in its quarterly results on Jan 26.

For ailing Nortel, quarterly revenue is crucial

TORONTO - When Nortel Networks Corp reports its quarterly results on Monday, the focus is likely to fall on the top line as investors look to see how well sales at the ailing telecom equipment maker are holding up in the global economic meltdown. Nortel, which filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors in January, has seen its revenue tumble as telecom companies and other big corporate clients cut spending on network and telephone gear that the company makes.

Oil pulled lower by dismal U.S. GDP data

NEW YORK - Oil prices fell 1 percent on Friday, pulled lower by U.S. data showing the economy of the world's largest energy consumer shrank more than expected in the final three months of 2008. U.S. crude fell 46 cents to settle at $44.76 a barrel after touching a session low of $42.55, reversing a three-day rally. London Brent crude fell 16 cents to $46.35 a barrel.