The demand for AIA shares is expected to be high on Friday as the company makes its trading debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange after a remarkably successful IPO, which valued the company at $30.5 billion. The IPO set records as the largest in Hong Kong and the largest ever in the insurance sector as cornerstone investors made strong commitments. A Reuters poll is forecasting AIA will start trading Friday at HK$21.79 each, nearly an 11 percent premium on its IPO price. At that price, the market capitalization of AIA will be roughly $33.9 billion.

This is encouraging news for AIG, which sold a 58 percent stake in its Asian life insurance unit last week and has the option to issue more shares.

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Financial experts may distinguish between “good debt” and “bad debt,” but your circumstances can help with determining how to prioritize paying off your debt. Here’s how debts can cost high finance charges and more:

• Pay day loans: These short term loans are offered at astronomical rates; the high rates and penalty fees can make it difficult to pay off pay day loans. If you have any pay day loans or cash advances drawn against a bank account, pay them off first.
• Auto title loans: Although it’s possible to refinance your vehicle through a bank or credit union, payday lenders may offer auto title loans at much higher cost. Using your vehicle as collateral for a loan can lead to a visit from the repo man if you fail to make payments. Taking out au

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Consumer Focus says Financial Services Authority (FSA) figures showing how many complaints each firm receives does not take into account the size of company, making it difficult to rank providers by the volume of protests (see the Best Bank Accounts guide).

For instance, recent FSA data for the first half of 2010 showed Lloyds Banking Group had the most complaints (288,717) a stat widely reported yet it would do as it has the most customers.

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Shares of Fidelity National Financial (FNF) sold off Thursday following news of the departure of its CEO, Alan Stinson. He will be replaced by COO George Scanlon, who acted in the CFO capacity for Fidelity Information Services (FIS) after its spin-off from Fidelity National Title.

Stinson did a heck of a job navigating the rough waters of 2008 and 2009 following the real estate meltdown. Under his leadership, Fidelity National brought its share of the title insurance market near 40% Friday, following the acquisition of LandAmerica Financial in bankruptcy court. Stinson will stay on board as a vice president, and Fidelity’s solid management team will keep the house in order. Incoming CEO Scanlon successfully orchestrated the sale of Fidelity Information Services to Metavante only a year ago. T

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The welfare cuts on top of the 11 billion announced in the emergency Budget in June include the axing of child benefit for higher rate taxpayers from 2013, unveiled at the Conservative Party Conference (see the Benefits Check-Up guide).

However, Osborne scotched speculation he is planning to cut child benefit for children over 16, saying it will be paid for some children up to the age of 19.

Other benefits, such as part of the pension credit, have been frozen but the Government has maintained some payouts, such as winter fuel payments, that had been tipped for the chop.

Osborne described the package as “tough but fair”.

“Today’s the day when Britain steps back from the brink, when we confront the bills from a decade of debt,” he said.

“To back down now and abandon our plans would be the road to economic ruin.

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A couple of days ago, Saratoga Investment Corp. (SAR) held a conference call for the quarter ended August 31, 2010. This was notable because the conference call represented the first time shareholders heard from the management of Saratoga since taking over the stewardship of the company from GSC Investments. Since the change of control we haven’t heard much from Saratoga, so we were anxious to hear what would be said.

Here’s our summary of the highlights, but don’t expect too much. Management remained very tight fisted with information. We won’t be summarizing the first part of the conference call, which was just a reiteration of the quarterly earnings report. It was

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Columnist Brian O’Connell writes in Newsweek that U.S. consumers are expected to file 1.6 million bankruptcies by year end, the highest level since 2005. As the economy lingers in the doldrums, more Americans are going without health insurance. Many families are forced into bankruptcy when meeting living expenses without jobs or paying insurmountable health care costs. Although you may be well and have a job, it’s important to recognize potential signs of trouble in order to avoid appearing in bankruptcy court.

Getting the facts: Knowing what’s real, and where you stand

Having a wallet full of credit cards with high credit lines can provide a false sense of financial security; you figure you can handle unexpected expenses by whipping out the plastic. This

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The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) says many companies mislead hard-up borrowers with false promises that they could be debt free by using loopholes in the Consumer Credit Act. Some charge 500 per credit agreement ‘reviewed’.

The alert could mark the final nail in the coffin of the so-called ‘debt write-off’ industry that grew rapidly in 2008 and 2009 (see the Write off your debts? guide).

A series of court judgments over the past year stated debt write-off is largely impossible and industry regulator the Ministry of Justice has banned over 200 firms over the past few years including the high profile Cartel Client Review in June to virtually kill off the sector.

One of the main false statements made by some claims companies has been that a debt can be written off when, even in the best case scenario, as far as claimants are concerned, it can only be deemed ‘unenforceable’ which means any balance is far from wiped out.

Warning

The OFT has reaffirmed those court decisions in consumer guidance issued today.

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