Thain Made Most of Merrill's Ugly Position

Fuld not the only one hiding assets

(NEWSER) - Dick Fuld’s wife isn’t the only one getting a discount mansion. Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli and ex-Merrill Lynch honcho Stanley O’Neal have followed Fuld’s lead, handing their multimillion-dollar homes to their spouses, according to property records obtained by the New York Post. Such deed transfers are often used to protect the house from legal action. More»

Directors unlikely to comply given public sentiment

(NEWSER) - Merrill Lynch narrowly escaped extinction this fall, and CEO John Thain is seeking an end-of-year bonus of as much as $10 million for keeping the company alive, reports the Wall Street Journal. Merrill's board of directors—acutely aware of public scrutiny—appear unlikely to fork over that kind of package when they meet today. Goldman Sachs, which performed better than Merrill this year, isn't giving top execs any bonuses this year. More»

(NEWSER) - The financial world has been rocked to its foundations in a few short days, with a handful of men making momentous decisions. The Wall Street Journal outlines the key players.

• Henry Paulson. No Treasury chief has wielded such power. He decides whether big firms live or die via federal bailouts. Will his too-big-to-fail philosophy stand the test of time?
• John Thain. The Merrill Lynch CEO saw the writing on the wall for his own firm while working on the Lehman crisis. In less than 24 hours, he hammered out a deal to sell Merrill to Bank of America.

Bankruptcy sends shockwaves through financial world

(NEWSER) - Lehman Brothers gasped its last breath this morning, filing for Chapter 11 protection in Manhattan under a crushing $613 billion in debt, the largest—and potentially most frightening—bankruptcy in US history, reports Bloomberg. Experts say the filing is likely to trigger a domino effect in the US economy. More»

(USER SUBMITTED) - In a remarkable case of the pot calling the kettle black, Lehman Brothers' former CEO Richard Fuld pointed a finger at the US Federal reserve today, saying it worsened the financial crisis in September 2008. Testifying at a hearing, Fuld blamed the Fed for letting the investment bank fail. He said, “Only Lehman was denied that expanded access” that would have allowed for a more orderly wind-down of its business. Fuld continues to deny that the bank took too much risk and hid its true financial condition through off-balance-sheet financing. More»