Lehman for sale, with B. of A. a possible suitor, report says

[alcibiades_mystery]

Source: CBS Market Watch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Lehman Brothers is reportedly for sale as the brokerage firm tries to avoid potential downgrades that could trigger a damaging exodus of clients and trading partners and threaten future profits.

Lehman is actively shopping itself to potential suitors, including Bank of America, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.



Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/lehman-reportedly-sale-bank-america/story.aspx?guid={FCC7C56E-2D56-4DF6-96BD-ABA290608E6F}

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Another one bites the dust...

[NMDemDist2]

1. BofA??? didn't they just swallow up all Countrywide's bad paper

we'll have one big bank that will then go belly up


oh joy.

[Muttocracy]

2. seriously - I don't think BofA has its act together themselves, do they? nt

[Xithras]

4. BofA didn't get hit like a lot of other banks did.

BofA dipped their toes into the subprime market towards the end, but they're one of the few banks that didn't make it a large part of their business. When the market imploded, their exposure to subprime loss was much less than many other banks. That has left them in a relatively stable financial position when compared to banks like Washington Mutual, which focused heavily on subrime.

[Xithras]

3. Interesting. I wonder if Wells Fargo will make a play for WM now.

There's been a lot of chatter these past few days about Wells Fargo either making a play for Lehman or Washington Mutual (which still has a huge and profitable retail banking business). With Lehman off the table, Wells Fargo doesn't have any options anymore. With the WM stock hovering in the mid $2 range, it's a hell of a deal, but it means acquiring some serious losses along with it.

As a WM stockholder, I'm hoping for an acquisition rather than a government takeover. I really don't want to lose the last few pieces of my ass I'm still in possession of with that stock.

[dipsydoodle]

5. Check with Jim Hardy

That is an age related joke.