Companies Hobbled by Fewer Wall St. Analysts

James Stewart on the week that Lehman failed, and meltdown loomed

(NEWSER) - James Stewart’s reconstruction of the 8 nail-biting days, a year ago, in which the federal government stepped in to stop the collapse of the world financial system—published in the New Yorker this week, just as Fed chief Ben Bernanke was declaring the recession officially over—makes riveting, tense reading. “I don’t think I can take another day of this,” one banker says getting out of the Goldman Sachs car on Day 4. “You’re getting out of a Mercedes to go to the New York Federal Reserve,” snaps Bernanke. “You’re not getting out of a Higgins Boat on Omaha Beach.” Not quite, at least. More»

Drop-off in corporate giving leaves groups scrambling

(NEWSER) - Charities used to getting much of their money from major corporations and private foundations are feeling the economic downturn, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bill Gates’ foundation plans to give fewer grants next year, and other large donors are honoring existing pledges but refusing to make new ones. “You can’t give what you haven’t got,” said AIG’s former CEO, a major donor. More»

But if Congress doesn't pass Treasury's bailout, he'll 'get killed'

(NEWSER) - Billionaire Warren Buffett has been getting a lot of calls lately from struggling Wall Street firms looking for a savior, from Bear Stearns to Lehman Brothers to AIG. He’s turned them all down, the Wall Street Journal reports, but when Goldman Sachs called Tuesday, the Oracle of Omaha ponied up $5 billion within hours, on a gut feeling that Goldman was a survivor. "I didn't see a book," he says, "I just made a judgment." More»

'Good, clean, old-fashioned banking' is coming back in US markets

(NEWSER) - A new era has arrived on Wall Street, with the big investment firms falling, James Cramer writes in New York, and traditional banks with large deposit bases looking like the smartest option all along. “We’ll see a more chaste culture emerge from all of this, on Wall Street, and perhaps beyond,” he writes. “Caution will be the new daring. Safe will be the new sexy.” More»

(NEWSER) - Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the nation's last two major independent investment banks, have gotten permission to become bank holding companies, the Federal Reserve said tonight. A fundamental rearrangement of Wall Street, the move will allow them to create commercial banks, which would bolster their resources, while inviting increased regulation. It reflects the Fed's determination not to let Goldman and Morgan Stanley fail, the New York Times notes. More»