Lehman is looking for a buyer.  I guess the plan to sell parts wasn’t met with the a welcoming reception so now the whole company is at stake.  Surprise, surprise.
A deal could be announced as soon as this weekend, but Hank Paulson has said there will be absolutely no government deal for Lehman.  Sound like deja vu?
Potential suitors include Barclays, Bank of America, JC Flowers & Co., and the China Investment Co.  There are also some reports of a joint deal involving some of the previously mentioned suitors.
I look forward to hearing (and of course posting) the terms of any such …read more

Lehman Brothers announced their week early earnings…$3.9 billion in the negative, the largest loss in the history of the company.
Needless to say, this loss was greater than expected.
The bank has announced plans aimed at fixing whatever is broken.  Some details of the plan include: selling a majority stake in its asset management business, spinning off $30 billion in commercial real estate business, and slashing its dividend by close to 93 percent.
At this point, I think the time for plans has long since passed.  Without fast action, the next Lehman news we hear may be M&A.

After losing almost half of their equity value today, Lehman Brothers decided to announce third quarter earnings tomorrow.  Tomorrow’s announcement will come a full week earlier than originally scheduled.
If the earnings are really bad, I can’t imagine why they would be in rush to report, so maybe a surprise is in the makings.

Another one two bite the dust…
In its latest move to show commitment to fixing financial woes, Lehman Brothers relieved two of its highest ranking executives of their duties.
In recent days, spectators have been calling for the resignation of CEO Richard Fuld after the company posted a $2.8 billion loss.  But, Mr. Fuld has escaped termination…at least for now.  Instead, Chief Financial Officer Erin Callan and Chief Operating Officer Joseph Gregory were given the boot. 
It was just Monday, that Ms. Callan made the media rounds explaining the great lengths Lehman has gone to in order to firm up its balance sheet.  Meanwhile, Mr. Fuld opted to privately observe …read more

One of the nation’s largest investment banks has taken major steps to silence rumors of an impending Bear Stearns-esque collapse.
Lehman Brothers Holdings firmed up its balance sheet by cutting its risky debt positions by 25 percent.  In addition to selling off debt, the firm raised $8 billion in capital.
Many investment banks are fleeing from risky, mortgage related debt like the plague.  So who bought over $100 billion of these risky securities from Lehman?
One buyer is Loomis Sayles, a fund manager with a portfolio of more than $100 billion in bonds.  Lehman reps have also met with potential buyers at BlackRock.  BlackRock merged …read more