Investigators Said to Take Closer Look at Lehman

The latest regarding the financial crisis facing America.

According to the NY Times:

Federal prosecutors from three regions have stepped up their investigations into the collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers, issuing at least at least a dozen subpoenas including one to the chief executive, Richard S. Fuld Jr., people close to the matter said Friday.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey are all examining events leading to Lehman’s collapse and subsequent bankruptcy filing, these people said.

One focus for prosecutors, according to one person close to the matter, is whether Mr. Fuld or other Lehman executives made misleading statements about the bank’s condition to investors who took part in a $6 billion capital raising announced by the bank on June 9.

The New Jersey Division of Investment, which took part in the capital-raising, has received a subpoena, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. William Clark, director of the investment division, did not immediately return a call for comment.

Representatives of all three prosecutor’s offices declined to comment.

Take note if you are following these events online.

The existence of the federal investigations and subpoenas was disclosed at a federal bankruptcy hearing on Thursday by Harvey R. Miller, a lawyer at Weil, Gotshal & Manges who represents Lehman Brothers.

The bank raised the $6 billion in June at the same time that it announced a $2.8 billion loss that stunned Wall Street. The loss, after repeated assurances by bank executives that Lehman’s finances were sound, set off a plunge in the bank’s share price.

In the days that followed, Mr. Fuld reassigned the president, Joseph M. Gregory, and chief financial officer, Erin Callan, as he tried to restore confidence in the bank.

The investment bank sought bankruptcy protection in mid-September after a frantic last-minute effort failed to find a buyer or get a government bailout.

Some people are buying, some are selling. How does this effect you as an investor?

Citigroup Shares Drop

Can't stop following the financial drama in the news tonight.

Shares in Citigroup Inc. fell sharply Friday after the bank's deal to buy Wachovia Corp.'s banking assets for about $2.1 billion was trumped by an offer from Wells Fargo & Co.

Citi shares lost $4.15, or 18.4 percent, to close at $18.35. In the past year the stock has ranged between $12.85 and $48.95. Wachovia shares soared 59 percent on the new deal, which will pay shareholders about $7 per share, or about $14.8 billion.

The bank had agreed to absorb as much as $42 billion in losses from Wachovia's $312 billion loan portfolio. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. agreed to cover losses above that level. The Wells Fargo bid does not include any government guarantees.

Citi is balking at the deal, saying it had an exclusivity agreement that precluded Wachovia from talking to other suitors.

People are being very careful with what they are doing with their money right now.

Wells Fargo To Buy Wachovia

We've been following the financial crisis news all week regarding the Wall Street bailout. Now it seem, according to the New York Times, Wells Fargo is going to buy Wachovia.

In a stunning reversal, the Wachovia Corporation said early Friday that it planned to be acquired by a rival bank, Wells Fargo & Company, for about $15.1 billion in stock.

The announcement came four days after Citigroup believed that it had cemented a deal with Wachovia to buy most of its banking operations for $1 a share or $2.2 billion in a deal brokered by federal regulators. With Wachovia on the brink of collapse, the government agreed to cover any losses above $42 billion, an indication of the urgency of regulators to get a deal done.

But Wachovia has now apparently rejected the Citigroup deal in favor of Wells Fargo. That deal calls for Wells Fargo to buy all of Wachovia for $7 a share and requires no assistance from the federal government. Wachovia customer deposits would be protected in both deals.

Still, the agreement requires the approval of Wachovia shareholders and regulators. In an announcement Friday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which brokered the Citigroup-Wachovia deal, said that it “stands behind its previously announced agreement with Citigroup.”

It's never a dull moment in business these days!