DealZone

American International Group, the once giant insurer which has become best known as a sinkhole for government money, says it will report third-quarter results on Nov. 10.

Most notable was how AIG described what almost certainly was one of the ugliest reporting periods in financial history: “AIG’s earnings release and financial supplement will be available in the investor information section” of its website.

Earnings? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the use of the word “earnings” means money was earned during the quarter, or that the company will report there was money left in the coffer after pay outs. That is unlikely, at least based on analysts’ expectations.

Analysts’ on average expect AIG to report a loss of $1.69 a share in the third quarter, according to Reuters Estimates. It will be the insurer’s fourth-consecutive quarterly loss.

Maybe the insurer should have stuck with the word “results.” It would likely be more accurate and sounds better than the other alternative, “loss report.”

From the Iranian coffee cart guy to the Italian graduate student, almost everyone who walked past Lehman Brothers’ headquarters on a  windy Wednesday morning in New York seemed to stop and mull its future.

Philipp Steiner, a graduate student in entrepreneurship from Italy, walked up to Lehman’s offices at 50th St. and 7th Ave after reading news about the investment bank’s $3.93 billion quarterly loss on the famous news ticker a few blocks south in Times Square. There’s never such big news in Italy, he said. Still, he didn’t think Lehman bankers had too much to worry about, despite its troubles.

“I would see that as a good experience, and then move on to another job,” Steiner said.