Barclays Seeks Liquidity With $8.85B Offering

Failed rights issue leaves banking giant in taxpayer hands

(NEWSER) - The Royal Bank of Scotland, one of the giants of British banking, confirmed today that taxpayers now own a majority share following a $30 billion government bailout, reports the Guardian. The country's No. 2 bank failed to raise sufficient cash via a $22.5 billion rights issue, with only 1 in 400 shares finding a buyer. Treasury has bought 57.9% of the business and also acquired $7.5 billion in preference shares, which must be paid off before ordinary shareholders can receive dividends. More»

Paulson brokers twin public-private liquidity measures

(NEWSER) - Ten of the world's largest banks have formed a massive liquidity fund to mitigate the effects of the Lehman Brothers meltdown, reports the Financial Times. All the investment banks will be able to borrow up to a third of the $70 billion fund in order to reduce volatility and stay in business while Lehman is being wound down. They will also be able to borrow from the Fed under newly relaxed terms. More»

(NEWSER) - Barclay's dropping out of a Lehman deal means that the Feds lost a game of chicken with the big banks holding Lehman mortgages, and now there will be a disorderly liquidation of Lehman assets, instead of the orderly liquidation that would have been possible with a real buyer, James Cramer writes on TheStreet.com. The question is how big a hit those owning Lehman mortgages will take. More»

With stocks off big, bank chief warns of lack of liquidity

(NEWSER) - The Russian economy is skidding, and its leaders are giving somewhat contradictory messages, the AP reports. Shortly after President Dmitry Medvedev assured the public today that stock-market troubles don’t “reflect the actual state of the economy,” the chairman of the country’s central bank said “as far as liquidity is concerned, there is some shortfall in the banking sector.” More»

Once regaled for cavalier confidence, CEO's chief cuts losses

(NEWSER) - Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain has seen better days, Floyd Norris writes in the New York Times. He's gone from “cockiness to capitulation. Distinction to desperation.” Thain recently unloaded a bundle of his company’s securities for 22 cents on the dollar and raised $8.5 billion from a stock sale. But this uncharacteristic fear could indicate that Wall Street has finally hit bottom. More»