The deal for the money that AIG desperately needs

"AIG made it clear how onerous the terms of the two-year loan will be. Not only will it pay 8.50 percentage points over 3-month LIBOR, putting the current rate at well above 11 percent, but it will also pay a commitment fee equal to about $1.7 billion. AIG will also pay a fee on undrawn amounts of 8.5 percent a year. The interest and the fees will be added to the balance outstanding, the company said. " And they have to pay it back from sales of assets and new equity sales.
So they will be paying a MINIMUM of $7.5billion per year in interest, even if they don't draw a dime. And paying $1.7billion for the privilege.
The hearings about the Paulson bailout have so far not focussed on what the terms might be.
But if this is anything to go by, the US taxpayer is doing very very nicely indeed out of the credit crunch.
PS
It would appear that existing housing sales in the US are beginning to bottom out at an average rate of 5 million a year ( give or take). The markets not dead by any means, just going slow - say, oh, I don't know, round about where it was in 2001. Doesn't quite chime with Armageddon does it?
PPS
My cousin's family has been renting in LA for about 5 years. They've just bought the house they wanted from that time ( when someone pipped them to it) for 70% of the asking price last December. So they only paid 50% more than it would have cost them in 2002.