.
Let’s talk about Lehman Brothers first (like what else would be). This weekend has been filled with emergency meetings since Friday night and will continue through Sunday. The leaders of most banks have been meeting with Hank Paulson, who is the Treasury Secretary (for those who are still in the dark), the SEC Chairman Chris Cox and the New York Fed Chief Timothy Geithner. No details have been given, but they have said that the meetings are focused on “recent market conditions” (uh, duh).
.
What I don’t understand (but do agree with) is that there will be no “saving grace” from the government for Lehman like there was for Fannie, Freddie and Bear Sterns. The part that I don’t understand is why were the others bailed out, but not Lehman Brothers. Is Lehman the step-child to the financial sector or did someone from Lehman piss on the wrong tree? Considering that Lehman brothers has been around for over 150 years, I’m sure someone doesn’t like them. The Feds were concerned about Fannie and Freddie being bought buy outside governments or entities, but shouldn’t they worry about these guys just the same? As it is, it’s questionable that Barclay’s or Bank of America are even interested though they are they the likely candidates. Something smells rotten in Denmark.
.
Who know what the final outcome will be, but I will say that it will be interesting to see what the other firms will decide on as the fate of Lehman Brothers. Let’s be for real though, the companies that are involved with these meetings are facing the same problems that Lehman is going through, so who are they to come up with some great plan since they can’t even take care of themselves.
The firms that are involve include the likes of JP Morgan/Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. Ironically, Lehman Brothers’ Richard Fuld was not there
Tags: Federal Reserve, Financials, Stock market news
Recent Comments