Despite the sluggish performance of the stock markets recently, there is no shortage of deals to report.

Some corporate finance stories in the newspapers include:

* AIG (AIG.N) has resumed talks to sell its American Life Insurance Co unit to MetLife Inc (MET.N) in a deal that could help the stricken insurer raise more than $15 billion, according to the Financial Times.

* Datang Telecom (600198.SS) is in talks to sell a 20 percent stake to China’s national pension fund worth as much as 3 billion yuan ($428.6 million), China Daily reported.

* CIT Group (CIT.N), the U.S. commercial lender struggling to finance its business, is pressing U.S. regulators to allow it to issue government-backed bonds to allay concerns over its financial health, the Financial Times said.

* Xstrata’s proposed 40 billion-pound merger with Anglo American has effectively collapsed after Anglo’s shareholders rejected the approach, The Times reported.

* Metalloinvest, the Russian iron and steel firm founded by tycoon Alisher Usmanov, has agreed a four- to five-year extension with some creditors on repayment of $2.2 billion in debt, Vedomosti business daily reported.