This is some weird shit that keeps getting weirder. Now BAC is buying MER for $30 yet it saw absolutely no value in LEH. LEH wasn't even trying to sell itself whole until a few days ago. I'm sure it has some assets that are valuable like Neuberger Berman and its office buildings that it could've easily sold.
Let say the Korean Development Bank offered LEH $16 a share last week. Why didn't LEH call them up on Friday after the close and ask for $6/share? A bankrupcy filing totally fucks over every employee and executive with shares in the company including Fuld - who will now get shit for his shares. Even Jimmy Cayne of BSC walked away will multimillions.
exactly my feeling. mer was next in line- bac buying mother merrill stops the dominos (or so they hope). my feeling is that if some good news comes out of aig, mer/aig news will trump leh news and we certainly won't have the es at 1222 at 4est monday...
The fix was in when they trashed the preferred shareholders of Fannie and Freddie. Prior to the takeover everyone was figuring they wouldn't beat up on the preferreds, because so many banks held them, first, and second, it would make issuing preferreds to recapitalize more expensive. Note this story from <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a8UlgjJf3Pz4&refer=home">Bloomberg from last week</a>: Fitch came out and said Lehman's main problem would be raising capital. The stock tanked, and the death watch began in earnest. Looks to me like Paulson taking advantage of the situation to take out GS's competitors. No way the trashing of the preferreds was done on principal. As for politics, that consideration would have been satisfied by wiping out the common equity holders. Only folks who follow this stuff would have known or cared about the preferred situation. The MER deal is meant to make sure it goes no farther, since if the panic gets bad enough, even GS wouldn't be safe.
this is the reason why the filing must be tonite. http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080914/lehman_specialsession.html
Does any one else find it so hard to believe that here the people that do nothing but work with money and making money all day couldn't handle the money they were entrusted with to the point that they have to file for bankruptcy or sell the company. Trust is completely out the window. What happened to the "prudent man " law? Better yet, where are Randolf and Mortimer Duke when you need them?
""If there is no filing, the trades cease to exist." " When I play golf, I call my mulligan prior to teeing off, unless I really get a hold of it, then it counts.