American International Group, Allianz

American International Group Inc. of New York reported a net loss of $7.81 billion, or $3.09 per diluted share, for the first quarter of the year. That’s down from a net income of $4.13 billion, or $1.58 per share, in the same period last year. The insurance giant blamed its losses on a volatile equity market, as well as the disruption in the credit markets — the same troubles behind the company’s $5.29 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2007. To help strengthen its balances sheet, AIG announced a plan to raise $12.5 billion in capital through a common stock and equity-linked offering, as well as by issuing high equity content fixed-income securities. Allianz Group today said that its net income for the first quarter fell to 1.15 billion euros ($1.77 billion), down 65% from the same period in 2007. The company attributed its slumping profits to its decision not to realize gains from capital investments. Total revenues also took a dive, falling to 27.7 billion euros ($41.6 billion), a 5% decrease compared with the first quarter in 2007.