Lehman Brothers Looks like our Friday Surprise

Instead of Friday Movie Night blog series on the The Economic Populist perhaps we should have a series, All the News They Do Not Want Read.

Everyone notice the most interesting, alarming and slight of hand Press releases are on Friday, 5pm EST or later?

Here comes Lehman Brothers as the next failure after they went begging to the Koreans who just said no.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE:LEH - News) shares sank as much as 40 percent Tuesday on concern that talks on a possible investment from Korea Development Bank had broken down and that the fourth-largest Wall Street investment bank would be unable to raise needed capital

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oy boy

The Ponzi scheme (aka Winter Watch) is collapsing. This via Reuters:

The cost of protecting Lehman Brothers' (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) debt with credit default swaps rose by 50 percent on Tuesday amid concerns that the investment bank may be unable to raise needed capital.

Five-year credit default swaps on Lehman Brothers traded at 490 basis points, or $490,000 a year to protect $10 million of debt -- about 163 basis points wider on the day, according to John Atkins, an analyst at IDEAglobal in New York

Not exactly a surprise

The only real surprise would be if Lehman didn't have to be bailed out.

what would be a surprise

would be they plain do not bail them out.

I mean just how much debt can the US federal deficit take here without causing a major US dollar crash?

WaMu

Might very well be also on the list for a surprise. Today the stock is hemorrhaging. Are we going to have a balance restatement?

Latest sputterings on Lehman

sell off troubled unit is the latest.

How are they going to get any buyers when no one will even give them additional capital?