Premarket roundup: Alcoa, AIG

Among the premarket stories for Friday, May 9, from AP Financial News:

NEW YORK (AP) — An analyst predicted a "smooth succession" for newly named Alcoa Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld, saying he expects him to make few radical changes to the aluminum maker.

NEW YORK (AP) — American International Group Inc.'s $7.8 billion first-quarter loss and $12.5 billion fundraising plan led an analyst to slash estimates and a price target Friday and others to question the insurer's next steps.

NEW YORK (AP) — A Lehman Brothers analyst says high oil prices will keep Hess shares around their current price, and he upgraded the stock as a result.

NEW YORK (AP) — Analysts expect Citigroup Inc. to highlight the performance of Chief Executive Vikram Pandit and his new management at its analyst and investor day scheduled Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wall Street economists expect the U.S. trade deficit to narrow in March, compared to the previous month, as imports slow and exports of goods and services remain strong.

BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) — Coinstar Inc. on Thursday urged shareholders to vote in favor of its independent board nominees and reject the nominees of a dissident investor at the coin-machine operator's annual meeting on June 3.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.