bankruptcy

The U.S. and the UK are not the only countries suffering from a housing bust and a credit crisis. Ireland and Spain have had massive busts as well and it is only a matter of time before we begin to see effects on the banking sector. And…

Marshall Auerback here.Equity investors, perhaps unlike credit investors, don't get the fundamental insolvency of the financial sector, an artifact of mega-leverage.This is a culture that responds to visual clues and marketing jingles.…

Today, after the markets closed, in another Friday Night Special, the FDIC announced the failure of Ameribank. This represents the 12th bank failure this year and the 14th since the credit crisis began last August.See my list of Bankrupt…

Why did Lehman really fail? The equity window is effectively closed for most financial services companies. This fact was the true trigger for the meltdown in AIG and Lehman and the problems at WaMu, HBOS and Merrill Lynch. Moreover, it…

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, with assets of over $600 billion is the largest in U.S. history. Wikipedia has catalogued the list of the largest U.S. bankruptcies of all time. (Hat tip: Börsennotizbuch) Drum roll, please. The current…

The meltdown of the world's largest insurer AIG (AIG) makes the stakes of this credit crisis plain to all. In my view, the AIG situation and the subsequent turmoil in financial markets could have been avoided. The markets were clearly on…

Dick Fuld, the Chief Executive of the beleaguered and now bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers, finally addressed staff after the worlds largest bankruptcy in history. He told staff he felt horrible for their personal and financial…

Update 04 Mar 2009: Marshall Auerback sent me a story about Dresdner bankers suing to get tens of millons in bonuses. Obviously the house in Kent and the private clubs and schools have to be paid for. His story here reminded me of this…

It's been bothering me for some time -- the fact that Lehman failed and Merrill was taken out at a deal time value that was a significant premium to both book value and the prevailing price of its shares in the market. It seems rather…

It's done. Core Lehman is sold. Now the rest of the company can be liquidated. Barclays will buy the core assets for a measly $2 billion. For Lehman staff in the US, this has to be a relief. However, staff in London are probably left…