Lehman Brothers (LEH)

[HengHeng]

coz ben and paulson talk about the regulatries and that FED boh liu liaoz.

[millionairemind]

Credit default swaps premium for Lehman B. continues to climb.. another Bear Sterns in the making???
Do you actually trust BOOK VALUE now??

Lehman shares plunge amid market distress
Fri Jul 11, 2008 11:09pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plunged to nine-year lows and stock in other Wall Street firms declined as new signs of distress in financial markets spooked investors.

Lehman fell as much as 23 percent, before recovering to close down 16.6 percent on Friday, far outpacing the drop in rivals such as Merrill Lynch & Co (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which lost 3.8 percent and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which declined 4.5 percent.

In the last two weeks, Lehman has lost about a third of its market value, and the company's shares now trade at less than half their book value, or the net accounting value of its assets, which typically signals extreme distress.

The investment bank has been the subject of false rumors in the past, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether investors have looked to profit by spreading rumors to push down the company's shares.

On Thursday, its shares were battered by rumors -- later discredited -- that some key customers, Pimco and SAC Capital, had pulled business away from it. Pimco, the world's biggest bond fund, said on Thursday it continued to trade normally with Lehman as did SAC, a prominent hedge fund.

Standard & Poor's on Friday refuted negative speculation, saying Lehman appears to have "sound credit fundamentals."

"The persistent and ongoing pressure on Lehman's stock price in recent days has not had negative effects on Lehman's liquidity, funding or client business," said S&P, affirming its "A/Negative/A-1" counterparty rating on the stock.

On June 30, Lehman's shares dropped on rumors that it was going to be bought out at a price below its then market price. Again, the rumors could not in any way be substantiated

(Truncated)

[kennynah]

former CFO, Erin Callahan, of LEH joining Credit Suisse...

life goes on.....unbelievable that she can still get a job.....this is how black wall street is...

[iam802]

she will still get a job..just unlikely to be a CFO or CEO, COO in a public listed company

This is what I have observed from my past company

[kennynah]

Lehman Long Term Credit Rating Downgraded At Moody's
7/18/2008 12:33 PM ET

(RTTNews) - Credit rating agency, Moody's Investors Service lowered the long-term senior rating of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to A2 from A1 late Thursday evening. Moody's cited expectations for additional mark-to-market losses on Lehman's residential and commercial mortgage portfolios, which continue to pose a significant challenge to the company's ability to return to an acceptable level of ongoing profitability, a material rating concern.

((truncated))

[Chiron]

Hot news from CNBC: George Soros buying into LEH

[kennynah]

Lehman option traders bet stock will keep falling
Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:47pm EDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Many traders scooped up defensive put options on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc on Tuesday, betting its stock will suffer more losses.

Shares of the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank fell 13.1 percent, or $1.97, to $13.11 on the New York Stock Exchange in afternoon trade.

In all, roughly 81,000 puts compared to 66,000 calls changed hands, exceeding the recent daily average of 88,000 contracts, according to option analytics firm Trade Alert.

(truncated)

[millionairemind]

K - You bot PUTS too???

Hope you HUAT AR

[kennynah]

mm : no more positions in LEH....wish u huat huat too !!!

[millionairemind]

Lehman’s secret talks to sell 50% stake stall
By Henny Sender and Francesco Guerrera in New York

Published: August 20 2008 23:30 | Last updated: August 20 2008 23:30

Lehman Brothers, the beleaguered US investment bank, held secret talks to sell up to 50 per cent of its shares to South Korean or Chinese parties in the first week of August but failed to reach agreement with either.

The South Koreans and Chinese walked away after concluding that Lehman was asking too high a price, said New York-based people familiar with the potential buyers. Lehman declined to comment.

he talks reflect the growing pressure on d**k Fuld, Lehman’s chief executive, to raise capital ahead of the mid-September earnings report, which, analysts said, could include more writedowns of $4bn (£2bn), bringing the total so far to $12bn. Lehman shares have fallen nearly 85 per cent since early 2007 and its market value is now about $9.5bn.

In addition to selling a stake in itself, Lehman is considering selling all or part of its holdings, including its troubled $40bn commercial real estate portfolio and its asset management arm, which includes Neuberger Berman. Analysts said the asset management arm was the crown jewel that could be worth up to $10bn.

In the first week of August, Lehman held parallel talks with the government-owned Korea Development Bank and China’s Citic Securities at its headquarters in New York’s Times Square area.

The South Koreans discussed a two-step process under which KDB would buy a 25 per cent stake directly from Lehman and another 25 per cent of the shares though a market tender.

The price under discussion was 50 per cent above Lehman’s book value. The two sides were said to have been close to a deal but last-minute disagreements torpedoed the talks.

Simultaneously, Lehman met top executives of Citic Securities but these talks never reached the level of detail of those with the South Koreans.

“They [Lehman] wanted . . . a few irons in the fire,” said one person familiar with the matter.

The talks to sell a substantial stake in Lehman are likely to lead to questions about the future of Mr Fuld, 62, who has spent his career at the bank and is the longest-serving chief executive of a top Wall Street firm.

Lehman had been one of the grandest names in high finance before a series of mis-steps forced its sale to Shearson American Express in 1984. For members of the old guard at Lehman, like Mr Fuld, the years inside Amex were a humiliation.


It took a decade for Lehman to break free and Mr Fuld has jealously guarded the independence of his firm ever since.

“What is Lehman’s strength also became Lehman’s weakness,” said one former executive at the bank. “The plus was that there was continuity. The negative side was that, as the game changed, the senior people became too removed.”

In June, Mr Fuld had to accept the resignation of Joe Gregory, his long-time deputy, who was replaced as president and chief operating officer by Bart McDade. Erin Callan, the high-profile chief financial officer, was replaced after only six months in the job by Ian Lowitt.

Mr McDade has been playing an increasingly prominent role at the investment bank, according to people who have dealt with Lehman.

However, in spite of Lehman’s share price fall, those who have negotiated with the firm in recent weeks describe Mr Fuld, who wields additional influence as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as being as pugnacious as ever. “He thinks he is playing with a full deck,” said one person on the other side of the table.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/586ed412-6ee6 ... fd18c.html