Replies to post #111 on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (fka LEHMQ)

[BuckeyeMike]

Financials in rally mode, as Lehman news helps
9:20p ET September 11, 2008 (MarketWatch)

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian markets advanced early Friday, with financials such as Mizuho Financial Group and Macquarie Group rallying after a rebound on Wall Street and on news Lehman Brothers was looking for a buyer.

The Nikkei 225 Average climbed 1.1% to 12,233.40 and the broader Topix index advanced 1.1% to 1,174.68.

South Korea's Kospi gained 2% to 1,472.40 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to 4,844.40, while New Zealand's NZX 50 index added 0.7% to 3,355.40.

The gains in Tokyo came even though official data showed that the Japanese economy contracted 0.7% during the April-June quarter, translating into an annualized decline of 3%. The drop in the gross domestic product was more than the 0.6% decrease in a preliminary estimate that was previously announced.

Financial stocks got a lift from news that Lehman was looking for buyer, and a Wall Street Journal report that suitors include Bank of America. The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve were helping with the sale, the Washington Post reported. The Post report added that nothing was finalized yet, but a deal was expected to be unveiled this weekend, before Asian markets opened Monday morning. See full stor

[daytrader2008]

Lehman's Fuld Races to Sell Firm as Fed Balks at Deal (Update3)

By Yalman Onaran

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld is seeking buyers for the investment bank amid signs that the U.S. government may balk at providing the funding that enabled Bear Stearns Cos. to sell itself and avoid bankruptcy.

Fuld, who built Lehman into the biggest U.S. underwriter of mortgage securities during his four decades at the firm, was pushed toward a forced sale after talks about a cash infusion from Korea Development Bank ended, sparking a drop of as much as 74 percent in the firm's market value during the past four days. Unlike when JPMorgan Chase & Co. took over Bear Stearns, the Federal Reserve and Treasury aren't likely to put up money for a purchase of Lehman, people briefed on the matter said yesterday.

``Lehman's sale is likely to take a different form because there was serious political fallout from the JPMorgan-Bear deal,'' said Sean Egan, president of Egan-Jones Ratings Co. in Haverford, Pennsylvania. ``It could be a consortium that buys Lehman, with the Fed's help.''

Bankers from other firms were reviewing Lehman's books yesterday, according to people with knowledge of the situation, and a deal may be announced before Asian markets open Sept. 15, one of the people said. The New York-based investment bank announced the biggest loss in its 158-year history on Sept. 10, as devalued real estate assets led to $5.6 billion of writedowns in the third quarter.

Shares Rise

Lehman fell 13 percent in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange at 9:35 a.m., to $3.66.

Bank of America Corp. is the most likely buyer for Lehman, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. analyst Richard Bove said in a note to clients today. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank would gain ``one of the best'' fixed income desks in the U.S. and boost its research and capital markets businesses, Bove said.

Bank of America may team up with Barclays Plc and private equity firms to make an offer for Lehman, analysts at MF Global Securities Ltd. said. Barclays would acquire Lehman's asset management unit to gain actively managed mutual funds and hedge funds, Mamoun Tazi, a London-based analyst at MF Global, said in a telephone interview today.

[loridans]

The government will not bail them out.

LEH will get broken up --at a value much higher than the current price.

Monday morning will tell all.