Wall St. Groans as Lehman Deal Takes Shape

Divided sale may spark ripple of pain through financial industry
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 13, 2008 7:08 PM CDT
Wall St. Groans as Lehman Deal Takes Shape
Security officers stand guard outside the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008, where deliberations resumed regarding the nation's No. 4 investment bank, Lehman Brothers.    (AP Photo)

A possible deal to salvage Lehman Brothers took shape today but cast a dark mood over Wall Street, the Wall Street Journal reports. Washington refused to save the ailing bank, sparking a plan for either Barclay's or Bank of America to buy "good" Lehman assets while other banks propped up an $85 billion "bad" Lehman bank—a move that could send ripples of pain through the financial industry.

Observers fear that Lehman's fire sale prices may hurt other banks' portfolios, compelling them to raise more capital—or that firms backing the "bad" bank may need to call in loans and spark more selling that depresses prices. "Unless something is settled, it's going to be a bloodbath Monday," one source close to the deal said. Talks are expected to continue tomorrow.

(More Lehman Brothers stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X