Massive Shifts on Wall St.

View previous topic View next topic Go down

Massive Shifts on Wall St.

Post by Outspoken on Mon Sep 15, 2008 6:28 pm

Massive Shifts on Wall St.
Troubled Investment Bank To File for Bankruptcy

By Heather Landy and Neil Irwin
Washington Post Staff Writers

NEW YORK -- Lehman Brothers announced early Monday morning that it will file for bankruptcy, becoming the largest financial firm to fail in the global credit crisis, after federal officials refused to help other companies buy the venerable investment bank by putting up taxpayer money as a guarantee.

The failure of the nation's fourth-largest investment firm offers a profound test of the global financial system, and government and private officials had been bracing Sunday night for an upheaval in a range of financial markets that have never before experienced the bankruptcy of such a large player. To keep cash flowing normally through these markets, the Federal Reserve announced new lending procedures, while 10 major banks combined to create a new $70 billion fund.

After a marathon series of negotiations over the weekend, Federal Reserve and the Treasury stepped aside to allow a wrenching transformation of Wall Street to proceed. After galloping to the rescue of other major financial institutions in recent months, the federal government drew the line with Lehman Brothers, ignoring pleas from would-be buyers of the company who insisted on receiving federal backing for its troubled assets.

Leaders of the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department decided that Lehman was unlike the investment bank Bear Stearns, whose sudden collapse in March threatened the world financial system, or Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose potential insolvency did the same.

In betting that Lehman could be allowed to fail without catastrophic consequences, New York Federal Reserve President Timothy F. Geithner, Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. were making it clear that struggling financial firms cannot count on a bailout.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/14/AR2008091400355.html?wpisrc=newsletter
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."

Plato (427-347 BC)

Outspoken
Admin
Admin

Gender:Male
Posts : 18356
Joined : 23 Oct 2007
Location : Home

Back to top Go down

View previous topic View next topic Back to top


Permissions of this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum