Financial Business Report: Life Partners Goes Into Orbit, GE Sells Thai Interest

Shares of Life Partners Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPHI) gain more than 150 percent on the day, following a Tuesday decision by a Texas judge that the interests it sells in life insurance policy settlements are not securities that are covered by state law. Previously, the attorney general of Texas had alleged that the firm was deceiving buyers in regards to the life expectancies of people insured under its policies.

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) divests a 7.6 percent interest in Thailand’s Bank of Ayudhya to unidentified institutional buyers, and also reports that it is reviewing options for its remaining 25 percent. The company is said to have raised $462 million through the sale, which was at a price that was 5.4 percent below Ayudhya’s Tuesday close in Bangkok.

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Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION) reports that it has reimbursed the government its remaining $700 million in TARP funds. The Series D preferred shares were redeemed at their full face value, along with $233 million paid to the United States Treasury in dividends on its investment in Zions from November 2008 through this date.

Spain’s Banco Santander S.A. (NYSE:SAN) has been successful in $4 billion as its Mexican subsidiary Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico (BSMX) dually lists in both Mexico and in the United Sattes. Analysts believe that the Mexican division should enjoy solid demand in the U.S., because it is part of a strong banking franchise, and “indiscriminate demand” through index trackers since it will be represented by all of the respective exchange-traded funds.

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