- Report Details How Lehman Hid Its Woes as It Collapsed
- British law firm cleared way for Lehman cover-up
- Lehman report lays wide blame for failure
- EU rebuff for Geithner over rules on hedge funds
- Obama Plans to Tap Yellen for Fed Vice Chairman
- AIG Said to Query Bonus Holdouts on Pay in Push for Concessions
- Reports: Tiger Woods likely to return from hiatus at Masters
Report Details How Lehman Hid Its Woes as It Collapsed – NY Times
It is the Wall Street equivalent of a coroner’s report — a 2,200-page document that lays out, in new and startling detail, how Lehman Brothers used accounting sleight of hand to conceal the bad investments that led to its undoing.
The report, compiled by an examiner for the bank, now bankrupt, hit Wall Street with a thud late Thursday. The 158-year-old company, it concluded, died from multiple causes. Among them were bad mortgage holdings and, less directly, demands by rivals like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, that the foundering bank post collateral against loans it desperately needed……
British law firm cleared way for Lehman cover-up – The Times of London
Linklaters, one of Britain’s leading law firms, approved controversial accounting practices that allowed Lehman Brothers to shift billions of dollars of debt off its balance sheet and mask the perilous state of the bank’s finances before its catastrophic collapse in 2008.
A 2,200-page report into the collapse of the 158-year old institution has uncovered evidence that Lehman used “balance sheet manipulation” in the form of an accounting practice known as “Repo 105” without telling investors or regulators that made the business appear healthier.
Lehman had initially sought legal clearance from an American law firm to permit Repo 105 transactions but was denied. It then sought advice from Linklaters in London, which said the deals were possible under English law…..
Lehman report lays wide blame for failure – Financial Times
A one-year probe into the collapse of Lehman Brothers found “credible evidence” that top executives, including the former chief Dick Fuld, approved misleading financial statements and used an “accounting gimmick” to flatter results.
The court-appointed examiner Anton Valukas also said that there was enough evidence to claim that Ernst & Young, Lehman’s auditors, failed to “question and challenge improper or inadequate disclosures” in the firm’s results…..
EU rebuff for Geithner over rules on hedge funds – Financial Times
Top European Union officials hit back yesterday at criticism from Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, who has accused Brussels of pushing ahead with protectionist rules to regulate the hedge fund and private equity industries.
A spokesman for Michel Barnier, the EU commissioner responsible for financial services regulation, said the bloc’s proposed actions against hedge funds were in line with a decision by the Group of 20 to reinforce transparency in the financial system…..
Obama Plans to Tap Yellen for Fed Vice Chairman – Wall Street Journal
President Barack Obama plans to nominate Janet Yellen as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, a person familiar with the matter said.
Ms. Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco since 2004, has been a strong supporter of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s policies to fight the deep economic downturn…..
AIG Said to Query Bonus Holdouts on Pay in Push for Concessions – Bloomberg
American International Group Inc.’s effort to reach its commitment of $45 million in bonus concessions are focusing on former employees who have refused to accept reduced payouts, said people with knowledge of the talks.
The insurer mailed questionnaires this month to ex-workers at the Financial Products unit asking whether they’d earned income after leaving AIG, said the people, who declined to be identified because the negotiations are private. Under the program, compensation earned by former AIG staff in 2009 from another employer would lower payouts to be delivered next week from the New York-based company, the people said……
Reports: Tiger Woods likely to return from hiatus at Masters – NY Daily News
Tiger Woods will not make his return at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, despite a published report and rampant speculation, according to two separate outlets.
The Associated Press quoted two sources close to the situation who said, on condition of anonymity, that Woods is “likely to play first” at the Masters…..
Tags: AIG, Barack Obama, Bonuses, Compensation, Dick Fuld, Erin Callan, Examiner reports, Golf, Hedge funds, implosions, Lehman Brothers, Politics, Sports, Tiger Woods, Tim Geithner
