Hirst Is Art World's Lehman

Financial giants refuse to die, Steven Davidoff explains

(NEWSER) - You might remember Lehman Brothers from its starring role in kicking off 2008's financial crisis by declaring bankruptcy, and hence, you might think it is dead and buried. But you'd be wrong, writes Steven Davidoff in the New York Times : Lehman is actually still shambling around, zombie-like, and what's more, it's trying to get bigger. Courts are still trying to work through Lehman's bankruptcy, the biggest in history, and in the meantime Lehman's estate is trying to buy apartment firm Archstone-Smith. More»

US accuses them of dodging due diligence as crisis fallout spreads

(NEWSER) - The Federal Housing Finance Agency—the agency behind Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac—has filed suit against more than a dozen big banks for their role in the mortgage meltdown mess. The feds, seeking billions in compensation, accuse the banks of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities, reports the New York Times . The suit accuses institutions including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank of failing to perform proper due diligence and missing evidence that borrowers’ incomes were inflated or falsified. More»

Downgrade could be worse: Neel Kashkari

(NEWSER) - If the debt follies in Washington result in US credit being downgraded, it could end up being a worse financial hit than the epic failure of Lehman Brothers, writes Neel Kashkari. The former assistant secretary to the Treasury, who was appointed by George W Bush to oversee the $700 billion bank bailout, notes the harsh lessons of 2008 and breaks down the similarities and differences between then and now in the Washington Post:

• Too safe to fail? Pre-2008, everyone "generally believed that major US investment banks were so large they would never be allowed to fail." But since US Treasurys have been the "risk-free" gold standard for decades, "a far bigger shock" than Lehman could occur.

A dozen works are priced near $20 million each at auctions

(NEWSER) - The art market has bounced back amazingly well from the downturn, and auction houses are aiming to sell $1 billion in Impressionist and modern works at two major sales next week. A dozen works are expected to fetch close to $20 million apiece, a price the auction houses couldn't reach for even a single piece in spring sales two years ago, reports the Wall Street Journal . Huge fortunes were lost during the downturn, but dealers say plenty of new investors don't seem especially worried. More»

At least one parents' group is offended

(NEWSER) - Has bad-boy British artist Damien Hirst finally gone too far? The head of a parenting group says his latest work, a baby skull covered in platinum and bejeweled with 8,000 diamonds, will be “deeply disturbing” to bereaved parents. The skull used in For Heaven’s Sake is believed to be from a child who died before the age of two weeks during the Victorian era. Hirst, whose artwork has also included dissected sharks and pickled sheep, acquired the skull as part of a 19th century collection. More»