A consortium led by sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp is in talks to buy a 49% stake in American Life Insurance , a unit of AIG, in a deal that could be worth up to $10.6 billion, Japan's Nikkei business daily reports.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called the financial crisis now plaguing the world economy a "once or twice" in a 100 years event, even as he warned Thursday against imposing too-strict regulations to prevent a repeat calamity.

A consortium led by sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp is in talks to buy a stake of up to 49 percent in American Life Insurance Co, a unit of U.S. insurance company American International Group <AIG.N>, the Nikkei financial daily reported.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A consortium led by sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp is in talks to buy a stake of up to 49 percent in American Life Insurance Co, a unit of U.S. insurance company American International Group <AIG.N>, the Nikkei financial daily reported.

Wall Street's pain is rippling through U.S. small businesses, as bankers who once pulled in million-dollar bonuses lose their jobs and cut back spending on everything from parties to home improvements.

The economy's health worsened in October as stocks, building permits and consumer expectations all fell, a private research group said Thursday.

U.S. financial companies need an additional $1 trillion to $1.2 trillion in capital to restore confidence to the and improve liquidity, according to a Friedman, Billings, Ramsey analyst.

A monthly forecast of economic activity is expected to drop in October as the effects of job losses and declining consumer spending spread.

By Jim Finkle and Scott Malone

Shares of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and other life insurers fell Wednesday as investors grew more concerned about the sector's large exposure to commercial mortgage investments and the variable annuity business.

Stocks plunged to a more than five-year low amid worries about the fate of the auto industry — and the economy — as a bailout for the sector grows increasingly unlikely.

Stocks declined Tuesday amid worries about the fate of the auto industry as a bailout grows increasingly unlikely.

Stocks opened mixed Tuesday as a pop in commodities and sharp drop in consumer prices briefly offset worries that Congress won't bail out auto makers.

Stock index futures pared their losses Tuesday after a report showed consumer prices posted their biggest decline in 61 years.

American International Group, the insurer getting a $152 billion federal bailout, in a regulatory filing late on Tuesday disclosed it would pay roughly $3 million to several executives under deferred compensation plans that are being terminated.