Throwing a Lifeline to a Troubled Giant [external] A frenzied, weeklong effort to persuade banks to prop up the ailing insurance giant A.I.G. failed and the Fed decided it had no choice but to do the unthinkable: bail out A.I.G. <a href="http://news.myway.com/index/id/business/nyt.html" target="_blank">http://news.myway.com/index/id/business/nyt.html</a>