Lehman Bros. Going Down: Bailout?

Well it isn’t exactly surprising. So who is next Washington Mutual?

Thursday, September 11, 2008

WaPo: Treasury and Fed Assisting in Sale of Lehman

by CalculatedRisk

From the WaPo: U.S. Government Assisting in Sale of Lehman Brothers (hat tip Maven)

The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve are helping Lehman Brothers put itself up for sale. The details are not finalized, but sources familiar with the matter say the purchase is expected to be completed and announced this weekend before Asian markets open Monday morning.

Another working weekend for Paulson.

This post from earlier post from CalculatedRisk was just a rumor. Some rumors appear to be more spot on than others.

Another question is what kind of bailout and federal taxpayer inoculation will be necessary to the “Let’s Make a Deal” ramifications of Mr. Paulson’s latest venture in Non-Capitalism and the Non-Free-Market.

And another question: how can PIMCO’s El-Erian’s conclusion that consolidation of the banks to just a few is a good thing? Doesn’t this mean that they will all be “Too Big to Fail?” And how exactly is that a good thing?

Update: No Bailout, Lehman is filing for Bankruptcy Protection. And Merrill is looking to find a buyer. That will leave Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley still standing. The big question is still AIG!