Dec 12 (Reuters) – Warren Buffett’s $1.2 billion share
buyback from a single unnamed investor likely helped that
person’s estate save substantially on taxes, just one day after
the Berkshire Hathaway CEO said the rich should actually be
paying more, not less, when they die.

With the “fiscal cliff” looming and estate taxes set to rise
dramatically in less than three weeks, the timing was seen as
advantageous – and, according to Berkshire watchers, also out of
place in the context of Buffett’s recent tax activism.

By Ben Berkowitz and Lauren Tara LaCapra

(Reuters) – Warren Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought back $1.2 billion in stock from the estate of an unnamed investor, the company said on Wednesday, one day after Buffett advocated for a higher estate tax when the wealthy die.

Berkshire also raised the threshold for future share buybacks to 120 percent of book value from 110 percent – the level it chose when it first approved a repurchase program in September 2011.

NEW YORK/HONG KONG (Reuters) – American International Group Inc (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will sell nearly all of aircraft leasing business ILFC (ILFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to a Chinese consortium for up to $4.8 billion (2.9 billion pounds), in a deal that gives the fastest growing aviation market easier and cheaper access to planes.

But the sale is at a far cheaper price than AIG sought and will lead to a substantial loss, the insurer’s price for getting out of its last major non-core asset following the U.S. government bailout of the company in the financial crisis.

NEW YORK/HONG KONG (Reuters) – American International Group Inc (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is to sell nearly all of ILFC (ILFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s second-largest airplane leasing business, to a Chinese consortium for up to $4.8 billion, giving the fastest growing aviation market easier and cheaper access to planes.

Chinese firms have shown interest in aircraft leasing before, and the deal would give China access to a global network of about 200 airlines in 80 countries. China is already ILFC’s largest market with 180 planes operating there, giving it 35 percent market share.

HONG KONG/NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) – American
International Group Inc has agreed to sell nearly all of
its ILFC airplane leasing business to a Chinese consortium for
up to $4.8 billion, in a deal that will require review from the
U.S. foreign investment committee.

AIG’s announcement, confirming news on Friday that a deal
with a Chinese buyer was imminent, said the U.S. insurer will
submit the offer for review by the U.S. Committee on Foreign
Investment. The inter-agency committee, also known as CFIUS,
vets foreign deals for security concerns.

HONG KONG/NEW YORK, Dec 7 (Reuters) – A group of Chinese
companies, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
(ICBC), is in talks to buy nearly all of American International
Group Inc’s aircraft leasing unit for about $5.5
billion, AIG said on Friday.

The deal is expected to be announced as soon as early next
week, a source familiar with the matter said on condition of
anonymity.

Nov 30 (Reuters) – Dozens of companies have declared special
cash dividends ahead of potential tax increases next year,
leading analysts to speculate on at least 40 more that might
return large quantities of cash before the end of this year.

For shareholders of some of those companies, like drugstore
chain Walgreen Co and for-profit education provider
Apollo Group Inc, such a payout may turn into a welcome
holiday surprise.

By Ben Berkowitz and Hilary Russ

(Reuters) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday imposed emergency regulations on insurers to speed the processing of claims from hundreds of thousands of state residents whose properties were damaged or destroyed when Superstorm Sandy struck a month ago.

Among the measures Cuomo unveiled was a requirement reducing the time limit for insurance company claims adjusters to respond to a claim to six days from 15 days.

Nov 29 (Reuters) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on
Thursday imposed emergency regulations on insurers to speed the
processing of claims from hundreds of thousands of state
residents whose properties were damaged or destroyed when
Superstorm Sandy struck a month ago.

Among the measures Cuomo unveiled was a requirement reducing
the time limit for insurance company claims adjusters to respond
to a claim to six days from 15 days.

Nov 23 (Reuters) – After another day of pumping out their
swampy, moldy houses, neighbors in Breezy Point in New York City
huddled at the quaint generator-powered firehouse Wednesday
night, stamping their feet to stay warm. Neighbors picked at
food from tin cans and sipped soups from Styrofoam cups as they
lamented the growing holes in a safety net they thought they
had: homeowner’s insurance.

“They’re covering five shingles and a piece of gutter, and
that’s it,” says Kathleen Valentine, a fire alarm dispatcher who
spent the night of Superstorm Sandy working while her house
filled with water and dead fish. Her insurance agent from
Narragansett Bay Insurance Company said her policy would pay
only for wind damage. She is still waiting for someone from the
federal flood insurance program to show up.