The company announced that Matrix Direct, its life insurance unit, had a 24% spike in business when advertised as AIG direct instead.

FORBES: Fairholme Fund Rebounds Strongly In 2012

Indeed Clear Capital has tracked a direct correlation between REO saturation and market prices: when REOs spike, prices drop.

FORBES: Is A Double-Dip Housing Market Old News?

As a direct consequence, the price for a barrel of the black goo has reached a level last seen before the panic spike in 2008.

FORBES: Libya Lights Up Markets Like Egypt Never Did