<b>Lehman Brothers faces downgrade by Moody's</b>
Moody’s Investors Service said on Friday that it had placed Lehman Brothers Holdings on review for a possible downgrade, citing the investment bank’s demotion of both its president and chief financial officer.
The brokerage firm demoted its chief financial officer, Erin Callan, and its president, Joseph M. Gregory, on Thursday, just days after saying it expected its first loss ever as a public company.
It follows a 61 percent slide in its shares this year. This week the brokerage raised $6 billion of fresh capital. Lehman said it expected its second-quarter loss to be $2.8 billion, driven by poor trading results and hedging losses.
Moody’s changed the outlook on Lehman’s A1 rating to negative on June 9 in response to the loss forecast. An outlook change refers to a potential downgrade in the medium term, whereas a review for downgrade brings forward any ratings action to a matter of months.
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<b>'Blood in the Streets' expected this week as banks report earnings</b>
Investors are bracing themselves for a bloody week on Wall Street, with three of America's biggest investment banks, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley, expected to unveil further writedowns totalling as much as $9bn (£4.6bn).
Analysts are predicting that Goldman, which has fared well compared to many of its rivals, will post a 30 per cent fall in earnings on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley is expected to reveal a 60 per cent reduction in profits over the same period.
But it is Lehman that kicks off the reporting week on Monday, just days after chief executive Dick Fuld culled two of his senior lieutenants, chief financial officer Erin Callan and chief operating officer Joe Gregory.
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"For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it." - Patrick Henry
The level of injustice and wrong you endure is directly determined by how much you quietly submit to. Even to the point of extinction.