Lehman Brothers

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Treasury Taps $50B to Insure Money Market Funds

As investor confidence dims, a backing from the government

(Newser) - The US Treasury moved today to temporarily insure investors against losses on money-market funds, Bloomberg reports. As much as $50 billion from the government’s Exchange Stabilization Fund will be used to back for a year funds that pay to participate in the program. Money-market funds, in which investors normally...

Paulson's New Plan: Buy Bad Wall Street Debt

Treasury chief pushes creation of agency; news lifts markets

(Newser) - The US government is considering the creation of a federal institution that would buy up bad debt from struggling Wall Street concerns, CNBC reports. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is reportedly pushing the proposal around Washington. By relieving financial institutions of toxic debt, they could return to lending money as per...

Cheer Up! Total Financial Market Meltdown Isn't All Bad

Five reasons to fiddle while Wall Street burns

(Newser) - For a dedicated silver-lining hunter like Michael Lewis, there are plenty of upsides to the total collapse of the US financial system. “A lot of attractive office space seems to be opening up in midtown Manhattan, for instance,” he writes in Bloomberg. Here are five other reasons to...

Congress Watches Uneasily as Fed, Treasury Move Boldly

Lawmakers complain of lack of oversight, being left out of loop as feds commit billions

(Newser) - Like sports fans second-guessing officials’ calls, lawmakers are watching uneasily from the sidelines as Treasury and Federal Reserve officials pledge billions of taxpayer dollars to fight Wall Street’s meltdown, the Washington Post reports. And, while many in both parties have been convinced the moves were appropriate, they’re worried...

Candidates Get the Economy Wrong: Pundits
Candidates Get the Economy Wrong: Pundits
OPINION
Sep 17, 2008 1:50 PM CDT

Candidates Get the Economy Wrong: Pundits

McCain is out of touch and off-message; Obama is reckless

(Newser) - With the economy in trouble, John McCain and Barack Obama have been talking economics. How are they doing?
  • Not very well, says the Wall Street Journal, declaring that the candidates “appear to know more about Mars than they do about financial markets.” Obama’s offering a return to
...

Why AIG Got a Bailout (and Lehman Didn't)
 Why AIG Got a Bailout 
 (and Lehman Didn't) 
ANALYSIS
Sep 17, 2008 7:40 AM CDT

Why AIG Got a Bailout (and Lehman Didn't)

Credit default business dooms, saves giant

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve seemed to draw a hard line against bailouts with Lehman Bros., but just days later it stepped over that line to save AIG. Why?  First, says Time: Size. Its implosion would have been "as close to an extinction-level event" as we've been since the Depression. But...

Hank and Ben: Time to Play Offense
 Hank and Ben: 
 Time to Play Offense 
OPINION
Sep 17, 2008 7:15 AM CDT

Hank and Ben: Time to Play Offense

Treasury and Fed need to start playing offense, says Leonhardt

(Newser) - If you'd told economists 18 months ago what lay ahead in the financial industry, predictions for the American economy would be dire. The fact that things aren't totally awful—we still haven't entered into a recession—is testament to the good defense of Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke. What they...

Fed Considers AIG Bailout; Ex-CEO Weighs Proxy Fight

Hank Greenberg, forced out in 2005, among investors mulling options

(Newser) - Reversing course, the Fed is considering a bailout package to help boost the liquidity of suddenly beleaguered AIG, even as the mega-insurer's ex-CEO considers a move to take control through a proxy fight or buyout, Bloomberg reports. In a regulatory filing, Hank Greenberg, who retired under pressure in 2005, says...

Lehman Bankruptcy Opened Door to Barclays Deal

(Newser) - Barclays will pick up the US capital-markets business of Lehman Bros. in a $2-billion deal worked out today that will go before a bankruptcy judge at 5pm and Lehman creditors shortly after that, the Wall Street Journal reports. Barclays backed away from buying all of Lehman over the weekend, but...

Thain Made Most of Merrill's Ugly Position
Thain Made
Most of Merrill's Ugly Position
ANALYSIS
Sep 16, 2008 2:34 PM CDT

Thain Made Most of Merrill's Ugly Position

CEO proved wiser than Wall St. colleagues, has $50B to show for it

(Newser) - As the credit market self-destructed, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers faced similar problems. The difference, Henry Blodget writes in Slate, is that Merrill’s John Thain played his cards right, and Lehman’s Dick Fuld didn’t. Brought in to clean house after Stan O’Neal’s high-risk strategy exploded,...

Fed Holds Line on Interest Rates; Markets Bounce

Committee leaves rate at 2%, confounding investors' expectations

(Newser) - In its first unanimous interest rate decision in a year, the Federal Reserve voted today to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 2%. The decision reflects regulators' unwillingness to get even more involved in the developments roiling the financial markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. Stocks fell triple-digits on...

Denial Exacerbated Meltdown
 Denial Exacerbated Meltdown 
ANALYSIS
Sep 16, 2008 1:04 PM CDT

Denial Exacerbated Meltdown

Banks, like homeowners, refused to believe how bad things really are

(Newser) - The collapse of Lehman Brothers and the fire sale of Merrill Lynch are stunning developments, Joe Nocera writes in the New York Times, as is the fact Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the only big investment banks standing. But the turmoil isn’t simply the result of complex trading...

Paulson Played Cards Well in High-Stakes Showdown
Paulson Played Cards Well
in High-Stakes Showdown
ANALYSIS
Sep 16, 2008 12:27 PM CDT

Paulson Played Cards Well in High-Stakes Showdown

Paulson, remaining banks struggle to pull the market back together

(Newser) - Cue the Kenny Rogers, suggests Steve Pearlstein in the Washington Post; “Hank Paulson knows when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.” Paulson was so determined not to commit federal dollars to bail out Lehman Bros. that when the banks said they couldn't step in...

Both Campaigns See Risk, Reward in Wobbly Wall Street

Neither candidate is solid on market crisis, but each can spin it to his strengths

(Newser) - Wall Street’s troubles pose a challenge for both candidates, though because his party hasn’t held the White House for nearly 8 years, Barack Obama has a slight leg up, writes Gerald Seib in the Wall Street Journal. Neither ticket has a strong market background, with John McCain more...

Barclays to Buy Parts of Lehman's Brokerage

Deal to give UK giant a US presence believed to be worth about $2B

(Newser) - Barclays has reached a deal to buy part of Lehman Brothers’ US business, the Financial Times reports. Lehman’s international divisions could eventually be brought into the deal, or the deal could allow for their acquisition later. Exact terms are unclear, but the Wall Street Journal adds that the figure...

Europe's Markets Dive Despite Intervention

Central banks pump cash, but bourses tumble

(Newser) - Europe's central banks pumped huge amounts of cash into markets today as stock exchanges dove and interbank lending slowed to a trickle. Just after midday in London, the FTSE 100 was down by nearly 2%, with investment banks and insurers leading declines. The Bank of England injected $35.8 billion...

Barclays in Talks to Buy Lehman Assets

Deal could save 10,000 jobs, salvage operations

(Newser) - Barclays is in talks to buy Lehman Brothers’ key assets in a shift that could save 10,000 jobs and some operations, the Wall Street Journal reports. A deal could be finalized today. No sale price has yet emerged for the possible transaction, which wouldn’t touch Lehman’s bad...

New York, New York, That Teetering Town

Masters of Universe tighten their belts as Wall Street quakes

(Newser) - Amid the financial fallout, even Manhattan's wealthiest consumers are beginning to curb their spending, Reuters reports. Wall Street tremors and belt-tightening by the rich are bound to hit New York City especially hard, and will rock stores, restaurants—and even charities. "We still have not hit the bottom...

Paulson, Wall Street Execs Let Lehman Die

11th-hour meeting exhausted all possible rescue options for investment firm

(Newser) - As the dust settles on Wall Street, details of the final frantic negotiations on Lehman Brothers reveal that Henry Paulson’s opposition to a government bailout ultimately sealed the investment bank’s fate, the Journal reports. Paulson summoned an emergency meeting of 30 Wall Street executives Friday to definitively state...

Dow Ends Ugly Day Down 504
 Dow Ends Ugly Day Down 504 
MARKETS
Sep 15, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

Dow Ends Ugly Day Down 504

Lehman bankruptcy swamps week's first trading day

(Newser) - After a midday lull, stocks plummeted again late today as traders adjusted to the failure of Lehman Brothers and the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, Bloomberg reports. Lehman’s stock alone was down 94.9%. The Dow fell 504.48 to 10,917.51. The S&P...

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