Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street: Oct. 17

AIG's Hunting Party

American International Group(AIG) may have just gone on the government's dole for $123 billion, but that doesn't mean its executives can't have a jolly old time.

A handful of top executives from AIG allegedly racked up an $86,000 tab during a recent English hunting trip, even as the New York-based insurer was lobbying for an additional $37.8 billion from the Federal Reserve.

AIG spokesman Peter Tulupman said Wednesday that the event had been planned "months before" the Fed's loan to AIG, adding, "We regret that this event was not canceled."

Perhaps sincere regret carries a little less weight in these extraordinary times. What taxpayer wasn't overjoyed with learning that he or she helped sponsor another boondoggle, this one at a $440,000 price tag, for top AIG insurance agents at a posh California resort last month -- just days after the U.S. government stepped in to save AIG with $85 billion?

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino called that event "despicable."

This latest one, however, we'll call just plain stupid.

Dumb-o-meter score: 95 -- Late Thursday, the company declared a moratorium on junkets or perks "not strictly justified by legitimate business neeeds." Tell that to the English big game.