Stories related to: securities

Lehman Brothers is selling $3 billion in new shares to allay fears after its stock dropped 42% this year, Bloomberg reports. "We still maintain that we don't need capital, but we've realized that perception is the dominant issue in today's markets,'' said CFO Erin Callan. Lehman fell up to 48% this month on rumors that it lacked cash and faced a Bear Stearns-style meltdown. More »

A freeze in the market for a type of securities known as auction-rate securities may cause big cash-flow problems for many Silicon Valley startups. A number of private companies have large chunks of cash tied up in the securities, reports the Wall Street Journal . Now, buyers have dried up and they may have to sell at a big loss, if at all. More »

Tomorrow, Ben Bernanke will make his first speech since turmoil erupted in the world's financial markets early this month. As Wall Street listens for clues about whether interest rates will be cut next month, the Fed chief be walking a tightrope, the Washington Post observes. If he appears indifferent, panic could deepen; if he seems too anxious to stem losses, he'll encourage more irresponsible investing. More »