AIG lifts borrowing from government $9 bln to $70.3 bln: WSJ (AIG) (by Robert Daniel)

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- American International Group Inc., (AIG) the New York insurance giant, boosted its borrowing from the government by $9 billion, to a total of $70.3 billion, as it tries to meet its trading partners' demands for cash, The Wall Street Journal reported. At the same time, the insurer is trying to sell assets to pay off the government loan; but financial markets are falling, which means buyers are harder to find, the Journal reported. The government had originally planned to lend AIG $85 billion but on Wednesday raised that figure 45% to $122.8 billion.