Italy's Generali show interest in AIA parts: report

Prudential chairman Harvey McGrath said in an interview Friday that no heads would roll at the British insurer after it abandoned its hugely ambitious takeover of AIG's Asian unit AIA."The board is completely behind the management team. No one has offered to resign and no one has been asked to resign," Harvey told the Financial Times.The aborted takeover was masterminded by Prudential chief executive Tidjane Thiam and commentators said his career had been badly tarnished by the deal.

Clark Troy submits:Reuters on Monday reported that according to Chinese-language financial source the 21st Century Business Herald, a consortium of Chinese bidders including banking heavyweight ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) and its life insurance peer China Life might bid as much as $10 billion for up to 30% of AIA, the crown jewel of AIG's empire in Asia, prior to the unit's lon

Italian leftist Enrico Letta was set to be nominated to be the new prime minister on Wednesday, bringing to an end a two-month deadlock on forming a new government with the launch of a coalition between right, centre and left. President Giorgio Napolitano, who was re-elected to a second term just last week after an agreement between the main parties, summoned Letta to the presidential palace for the expected nomination. Letta was seen arriving for the meeting.

Reader craazyman asked for mathematician and sometimes guest writer Andrew Dittmer to explain what is going on in Europe. Unfortunately, Andrew has many projects and Europe is rather large and complicated to sort out right now. Nevertheless, he did decide to help by translating some lead editorials from the Corriere della Sera to shed light on the reaction of the elite media to the recent elections.

US insurer AIG is expected to announce Monday it is replacing the head of its Asian unit AIA, just months before its planned Hong Kong stock market listing, the Financial Times reported.Mark Tucker, a former head of British insurer Prudential, is to take over from Mark Wilson, who has been chief executive of AIA since 2006, said the paper, citing people close to the situation.It comes after a revolt from Prudential shareholders led to the collapse of the insurer's 35.5-billion-dollar (27.5-billion-euro) monster takeover bid for AIA, which Wilson had opposed.

Prudential's bid take over AIG's Asian unit, AIA, is in danger of collapsing after the American insurer rejected a plea by the British company to cut the price tag from $35.5 billion to $30.375.