Moody's Investor Service (MCO) analysts said on Monday that American International Group Inc. (AIG) will probably have the ability to fully repay the bailout money and buy back much of the government's stake in the company as it continues to stabilize its core insurance operations and progress on its restructuring plan. AIG, which received about $180 billion of federal bailout including more than $80 billion in loans, has also been working for the last several quarters to sell assets and streamline its operations in an effort to repay the bailout money. U.S. taxpayers now own 80% of the company. During the third quarter, AIG remained profitable for the second consecutive quarter. The company’s third-quarter operating earnings of $1.9 billion ($2.85 per share) were substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.20. This also compares favorably with the operating loss of $9.2 billion or $68.36 ...

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PowerSafe Technology Corporation (PSFT.PK) subsidiary Amplification Technologies Inc. (www.amplificationtechnologies.com) (ATI), is offering higher performance thermoelectrically cooled discrete amplification single photon counting solid state photodetectors. These photodetectors are mounted on a two stage thermoelectric cooler inside a hermetically sealed TO8 package and can be operated down to a temperature of -30oC.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) today expanded its HP Total Care portfolio to help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) build a strong technology foundation that increases their productivity and collaboration, reduces environmental impact and provides greater flexibility as they refresh technology in

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XL Capital Group’s (XL) financial strength rating (FSR) of “A" (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a" were reaffirmed today by the rating agency A.M. Best. The outlook for all ratings is “stable". The rating reaffirmation is followed by XL’s efforts to restructure its investment portfolio by settling with Syncora Holdings. The company had a disappointing run last year, dragged down by structured-finance losses recorded by Syncora Capital, a bond insurer, of which it was the majority owner. Last October, XL severed its ties with Syncora, a big step in setting a track to recovery. On a year-to-date basis, XL has reduced its exposure to more volatile asset classes by $3.5 billion. XL also implemented expense reduction initiatives in the second half of 2008. It has been streamlining processes across all geographic locations, with a primary emphasis on corporate functions. The company has also ...

Foreign exchange losses, coupled with a decline in net investment income, shortened XL Capital's (XL) second-quarter earnings. On Jul 28 the company reported results that missed our expectations. Earnings came in at $79.9 million, or $0.23 per share, versus $1.33 last year.

Excluding items, reported earnings were $162.6 million, or $0.47 per share, in comparison to $266.2 million, or $1.49, in the prior-year period. On a per share basis, earnings shrank by 68%. Earnings fell short of the Street's expectation of $0.62 per share, whereas we had expected earnings of $0.65 per share.

Revenues fell 18.8% year over year to $1.73 billion, versus the $1.71 billion consensus. We had expected revenues of $1.6 billion.

Earnings were shortened because of a foreign exchange loss of $145.2 million that was due to deteriorating dollar value, coupled by a decline in net investment income.

Net written premiums fell 21% year over year to $1.08 billion,

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Affirmative announces restructuring initiatives Earlier this week, Affirmative Insurance Holdings, Inc. (AFFM) announced a number of restructuring initiatives and cost-containment measures. Both the company and M. Sean McPadden, Executive Vice President and President - Insurance Companies, have mutually agreed to terminate the latter’s employment. Following this termination, Chief Executive Officer Kevin R. Callahan has assumed the most of Mr. McPadden's duties. The actuarial responsibilities of Mr. McPadden have been assumed by Michael J. McClure, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. As a result, second quarter earnings are expected to include severance charges of approximately $1.0 million, the management said. Affirmative has also sold all of its retail stores and its franchise business in Florida. The company expects its pretax income to benefit by $1.0 to $1.5 million annually from the sale. The company has  incurred substantial losses on policies sold in Florida, ...

Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) became the latest financial firm to decline federal aid, stating that it would raise $1.25 billion through a common stock offering.

As investment dollars mounted last November, a number of insurers like Prudential had applied for bailout loans under the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program. But the markets have improved since March.

Recently, peers Allstate Corp. (ALL) and Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP) also rejected federal funds despite getting preliminary approval, taking a cue from large banks that are now scurrying about to repay government loans to avoid various complications.

Prudential said it may use proceeds to bolster capital at its insurance operations, repay short-term debt or for potential strategic initiatives.

The Zacks #3 Rank ("Hold") stock is down more than 2% today.

"PRU" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research