DealZone

American International Group reports better-than-expected quarterly results and says it has started talks on disentangling itself from the U.S. government. The insurer is nearly 80 percent-owned by the government. *View article

Hedge fund investors scarred by global credit crisis losses are setting their expectations lower and beginning to content themselves with smaller gains they would have balked at two years ago.  *View article

“Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death,” Elon Musk tells TechCrunch. *View article

Rolling Stone takes a look at the Wall Street reforms and asks: “But is the nightmare really over, or is this just another Inception-style trick ending?” *View Rolling Stone article

It is going to be tough for Agricultural Bank of China’s (AgBank) IPO to match the first-day jump in share price enjoyed by its rivals, analysts say. Institutions are expected help stabilize the stock price of the politically sensitive IPO but liquidity, the economy’s health and a flood of new share issues are seen as action against the company. *View article *More coverage *Asia’s top IPOs graphic

Shares in cellphone maker Nokia edged lower as analysts questioned the wisdom of its possible purchase of Motorola’s network equipment unit to boost its weak North American position. *View article

The board of American International Group is expected to meet to consider the future of its AIA unit, with a public float seen as the most likely outcome, sources say. *View article

An initial public offering of AIA is likely, sources say. AIA, seen as AIG’s Asian crown jewel, is a key cog in the bailed-out insurer’s plans to repay U.S. taxpayers, who now own nearly 80 percent of the company. View article

The Wall Street reform bill appeared to gain the support it needed for final congressional approval as three key Republicans said they would support the measure. Analysts — and opponents of the bill — expect the bill to ultimately reach President Barack Obama’s desk for approval. View article

Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says if the authority given in the Wall Street reform bill currently before Congress was available during his tenure, the impact of the financial crisis would have been significantly reduced. View NYT article

It’s been a busy day on the regulatory front. The New York Attorney General’s office is investigating eight banks for possibly misleading ratings agencies on the quality of mortgage securities, a source says. The Fed is conducting a broad criminal investigation into whether major Wall Street financial firms misled investors on mortgage bond deals, another source says.

Adding to the mix:
–the Senate voted to impose tighter regulations on credit-rating agencies.
–Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is concerned about a Senate proposal that could force banks to spin off their swaps business
–the White House and two state attorneys general said they don’t like an amendment to the Wall Steet reform bill that would give the federal government more power than states to regulate banks

From the Web:

Goldman, BofA, Citigroup….Did Prosecutors Leave Anybody Out - WSJ
“It’s Thursday, and one thing is clear from this morning’s headlines: Pretty much all of Wall Street is under investigation.”