Business, Finance and Market News

Central banks slash rates

The Fed, European Central Bank and four other central banks cut interest rates in an unprecedented coordinated effort to stem the financial crisis.

Europe stocks plunge further on recession fears

European stocks fell, sending the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index to its worst three-day retreat since October 1987, on concern a coordinated interest-rate cut by six central banks won't prevent a global recession.

Westminster to the rescue

Jon Swaine THE British Government last night unveiled a £500 billion ($1.3 trillion) rescue package for the nation's battered finance industry in which major banks will cede a large stake to the taxpayer in return for a massive injection of money to prop up their shattered balance sheets.

Swedes rush to Iceland's rescue

Iceland's biggest bank received an emergency loan from Sweden on Wednesday as the country's financial crisis showed no sign of abating.

Nikkei plunges 9.4% in biggest fall since 1987

The Nikkei stock average plunged 9.4% today, its biggest one-day drop since the 1987 stock market crash, as fear spread of a global recession.

• Yen surges as investors flee riskier currencies

Central banks try new methods amid market mayhem

Central banks across Asia stepped up efforts to offer more support to commercial banks, to try to ease painful pressure on funding costs.

Fed tackles corporate debt to ease credit squeeze

The Federal Reserve will create a special fund to buy US commercial paper, seeking to unblock the financing tool that drives everyday commerce for American businesses.

Investors don't buy Morgan Stanley's assurances

Morgan Stanley stock tumbled on a rumour that Mitsubishi would withdraw from an agreement to buy nearly a quarter of the investment bank.

Denmark raises rates to support krone

The Danish central bank has raised its key interest rate by 0.40 points to 5.0% to support the krone.

IMF warns of major downturn

Global growth is headed for a ''major downturn'' next year, as US gross domestic product grinds close to a halt, the International Monetary Fund says.

UK, Spain go solo on bail-outs

The UK and Spain raced to buttress their banking systems after European policy makers failed to form a united front to combat the deepening financial crisis.

Bernanke hints at rate cut

Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke signals policy makers are ready to lower interest rates as the credit freeze worsens the outlook for US economic growth.

European disarray as all go own way

Brian Swint, Francois de Beaupuy and Edmund Andrews EUROPEAN finance ministers failed to agree on steps to shore up the banking system hours after their countries' leaders pledged to do whatever was needed to restore confidence as the continent's stocks fell the most in two decades.

EU mulls raising deposit insurance to stem credit pinch

European Union finance ministers are considering a fivefold increase in deposit insurance for consumers across the EU after failing to agree on a US-style bank-bailout fund to stem the deepening global credit crunch.

RBA's cut first of many as other central banks to match

MALCOLM MAIDEN Central banks that fail to guarantee deposits risk sparking an exodus of funds.

Iceland gets $7.6b Russian loan to halt meltdown

Iceland got a $7.6b loan from Russia, pegged the krona to a trade-weighted index and nationalized the nation's second-biggest bank after the currency's slump and bad debts crippled the financial system.

Europe battles to contain crisis

European governments from Brussels to Copenhagen to Berlin rushed to shore up their faltering banks as the credit crunch worsened.

Sharpest slide since 1987

European stocks tumbled, sending the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index to its steepest drop since 1987, as the yearlong credit market seizure caused bank bailouts to spread.

Britain poised to bankroll rescue package

BRITAIN'S Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, is reportedly considering giving banks billions of pounds in return for shares to shore them up in the face of the global credit crunch.

European leaders pump billions to counter crisis

Sandrine Rastello, Paris The credit crunch deepened in Europe as government leaders pledged to bail out troubled banks and protect depositors.

That dampness is credit squeeze trickling down

Scott Lanman and John Brinsley, Washington Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke may find the next fronts of the financial crisis to be just as chilling as last month's downfall of Wall Street titans: its spread to corporate America and state and local governments.

Paulson, Bernanke consult as $980b rescue plan readied

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson consulted with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke as stocks slid worldwide and met with his team to set up the $980b program to shore up the financial system.

Hypo Real gets $89.1b government-led bail-out

The German government and the country's banks and insurers agree on a $89.1 billion rescue package for Hypo Real Estate Holding after an earlier bailout falters.

Bail-out fails to buoy markets

Jacob Saulwick THE Australian dollar is being sold off and stockmarkets remain skittish, despite the passage of the $US700 billion bail-out package for Wall Street and the US financial sector.

America, home of the free-market economy? Hardly

Jacob Saulwick Bush and Paulson are communists. That's the word on the street, anyway. While the US President and his Treasury Secretary lay out a trillion-dollar guide rope for the country's financial industry, even the Europeans baulked on the weekend at creating a common pool of taxpayer money to prop up failing banks.

BNP a possible suitor in Fortis bank rescue

Belgium and Luxembourg raced to find a buyer for troubled financial group Fortis before markets opened on Monday and an industry source said BNP Paribas was negotiating for control.

Outside experts hired for huge clean-up

Rebecca Christie and Robert Schmidt THE US Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, is hiring up to 10 asset management companies to join the lawyers and bankers he is recruiting to jump-start the Government's $US700 billion ($900 billion) bank rescue program.

Iceland's economy on brink as lender falters

Rowena Mason ICELAND'S Kaupthing Bank is headquartered in Reykjavik, about 1800 kilometres from the City of London, but the financial volcano threatening to erupt on the island could send shockwaves down every high street in Britain.

European talks stop short of joint response

Sandrine Rastello EUROPEAN leaders have pledged to bail out their nations' banks while stopping short of a regional rescue effort to deal with the global credit crisis.

A shattering moment in America's fall from power

John Gray The financial crisis means the era of US dominance is over.

Rescued AIG prepares to sell off assets

American International Group, the insurer forced to peddle businesses to repay a $110b government loan, will sell its life insurance and retirement operations in the US, Europe, Latin America and Japan.

Wells trumps Citi in bid for Wachovia

Adam Plowright Wells Fargo has offered $US15.1b for troubled US banking rival Wachovia in an attempt to outflank Citigroup and its government-backed rescue plan.

US passes $900b rescue plan

A $900b rescue plan for US banks gets approval from Congress and President Bush but fails to win over investors.

IMF gloomier on US economy

The US may be headed for a recession as the financial crisis worsens, the International Monetary Fund warns in its newest outlook.

• US economy on the ropes

Juiced-up rescue plan heads to US House

Revised $US700b rescue plan heads for the US House of Representatives, loaded with inducements to win over doubters.

People have never been so fearful, says Buffett

Erik Holm and Andrew Frye THE billionaire investor Warren Buffett says the US economy is "flat on the floor" after a cardiac arrest as companies struggle to secure funding and unemployment increases.

Furious lobbying to sway nay-sayers

Desperate to avoid another market-crushing defeat, leaders in the House of Representatives won key converts to the $US700 billion US financial industry bail-out.

Paulson's reasons for delaying day of reckoning

If you think this bailout is expensive, just wait until you see the next one.

US Senate passes bail-out plan

Anne Davies and Chris Zappone The US Senate has passed the revised $US700b bail-out bill, bringing the rescue plan one step closer to final passage and sending a positive signal to global markets.

Rescue plan rally likely to be brief

MICHAEL WEST The US Senate has passed the revamped financial bail-out bill, but relief is likely to be brief as banks continue to view each other as toxic and credit markets remain frozen.

Senate's bail-out sweeteners taste sour to some

A move in the US Senate to add a few tax sweeteners and other changes to the Wall Street bailout bill has prompted a rethink in some corners of the House of Representatives, but not all.

Former US Treasury chief slams 'crazy' bail-out

Former US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill says the $US700 billion bank-rescue proposal is "crazy,'' with potentially "awful'' consequences for the world's largest economy.

France, Germany clash over bail-out fund

France and Germany clash over whether to create a fund to bail out banks pounded by the global credit crunch.

UBS to cut another 1900 from payroll

Joyce Moullakis and Christine Harper UBS, the European bank with the biggest losses from the credit crisis, is set to announce plans to eliminate about 1900 jobs in its investment banking, equities, and fixed income divisions, about 10 per cent of the total investment banking staff. .

Resubmitted proposal likely to succeed

MALCOLM MAIDEN Politics were behind the failure of the Paulson plan to pass the US Congress lower house.

Shellshocked party leaders vow passage of rescue plan

Shellshocked US party leaders say they can pass a revised $US700 billion Wall St bailout within days, after their first attempt failed, sparking fears of economic catastrophe.

Europe scrambles to save banks from meltdown

As the shockwave from the US financial meltdown hit Europe yesterday, governments scrambled to shore up fragile banks and restore confidence to flighty stock markets.

Congress to tweak bailout or risk deep recession

US efforts to revive a $US700 billion bank bailout bill with some new provisions offered hope for battered markets, while economists warned of a long and deep recession if efforts to resuscitate it fail.

Sell, sell! The day the House sold out Wall Street

Ian Munro Herald Correspondent in New York ACROSS Wall Street, no one could quite believe what was happening on the floor - the floor of the House of Representatives, not the stock exchange.

Don't laugh at the rich, this is serious

IAN VERRENDER UNCHARTED waters, dangerous territory, storm clouds. Whatever your choice of metaphor, there is no understating the seriousness of the situation in which we now find ourselves.

Recriminations fly after shock defeat

Anne Davies in Washington Congressional leaders are scrambling to find a way to bring the $US700 billion Wall Street bail-out package before Congress for a new vote without making significant changes.

Madness in their metaphors

Dana Milbank in Washington THE bail-out bill was heading towards defeat in the House of Representatives, and Democratic and Republican leaders were desperately trying to twist arms and change votes when a bipartisan group of backbenchers began to heckle them.

Bailout deal voted down

Anne Davies, Washington The $US700 billion bailout package has failed to pass the US House of Representatives, triggering the biggest slump ever on Wall Street.

Failure from the get go

MICHAEL WEST Recession worries grow but the volatility means there will be unprecedented opportunities to pick up stocks on the cheap.

Why the bailout bill went down

The defeat of the extraordinary $US700 billion financial rescue package represented a perfect collision of the forces of modern politics all working against the Masters of the Universe.

Fed may dip further into toolbox

The Federal Reserve may need to consider dipping further into its toolbox as Congress tries to revive legislation aimed at rescuing banks.

Stakes too high to abandon rescue plan: economists

Despite a stunning defeat by US lawmakers, economists say the stakes are too high for Congress not to pass an aid plan for the battered financial sector.

Mitsubishi pumps $11b into Morgan Stanley for stake

Morgan Stanley agreed to sell a 21% stake to Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. for $US9 billion ($11 billion), seeking to shore up investor confidence after borrowing costs climbed and its stock fell by half.

Citigroup swallows Wachovia as banking woes spread

Citigroup Inc.'s rescue of Wachovia Corp. and its banking operations creates the third-biggest US branch network while aiding regulators seeking to prop up confidence in financial institutions.

Belgium ready to fly to Dexia's aid

Belgium's federal government and its three main regions have tentatively agreed to pump up to $12.3b into embattled Franco-Belgian bank Dexia, the government announced.

EU vows to quickly assess bank bailouts

The European Commission says it will not bend the rules when it judges huge capital injections by governments into European banks and other institutions that are suffering the backlash of the US financial meltdown.

Paulson says rescue plan needed urgently

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says he will work with lawmakers to get a deal one because it is too important to fail.

Plan won't fully calm credit markets

Agreement by US lawmakers to lift $840b in troubled debt from the financial system will relieve markets from short-term corporate debt to muddied mortgage securities, but may keep money managers on the defensive.

Intervention fails to win over sceptics

The $US700 billion bailout package for Wall Street crafted by lawmakers today has failed to win over some sceptics who say it came too hastily and doubt it will work.

Key elements of the bailout bill

What started as a fairly simple proposal giving the Treasury secretary unchecked power to orchestrate a bailout of the country's financial system has ended up as a complex rescue package.

Credit deal is agreed

Anne Davies Washington correspondent Politicians in the United States have made a breakthrough in talks to approve an unprecedented $840 billion plan to revive credit markets.

Fortis bank rescue to cost $20b

Fortis, the largest Belgian financial-services firm, received an 11.2 billion-euro ($19.9 billion) rescue from Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg after investor confidence in the bank evaporated last week.

Wachovia bank in takeover talks

Wachovia is in talks with rivals to be taken over after the US bank's shares fell 27% on Friday due to ongoing concerns about its portfolio of illiquid mortgage assets.

Fed to get more rates power after rescue plan

The US Congress's $US700 billion ($840 billion) legislative compromise to revive credit markets would also expand the Federal Reserve's power to manage short-term interest rates.

Fire sale of Bradford & Bingley as nationalisation looms

Spanish banking giant Santander will take over the retail deposits and branches of Bradford & Bingley ahead of the expected nationalisation of the British bank.

Will 'doing something' prove to be enough?

Tom Petruno and Walter Hamilton FINANCIAL players breathed a huge sigh of relief after leaders in the United States agreed tentatively on what may become the largest financial bail-out.

Taxpayers face bill for British bank's fall

Edmund Conway and Katherine Griffiths BRITISH taxpayers face a multi-billion-pound bill as part of a plan to rescue the stricken mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley.

Down and out in London

World focus may be on the US financial meltdown but Britain is taking a hit, too. Robert Wainwright and Paola Totaro report from London.

Largest ever bank failure

As the debate over a $US700-billion ($840 billion) bank bail-out rages on in Washington, one of the largest US banks - Washington Mutual Inc. - has collapsed under the weight of its enormous bad bets on the mortgage market.

Brawl as Treasury chief begs

Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Andrew Ross Sorkin THE day began with an agreement that Washington hoped would end America's financial crisis. It dissolved into a verbal brawl in the White House cabinet room, warnings from an angry President and pleas from a Treasury Secretary who knelt before the House Speaker and appealed for her support.

US bailout plan in limbo

Just hours after US lawmakers said they had reached agreement on a set of principles over the $840b financial rescue plan, talks are in disarray.

Republicans present rescue alternative

A group of conservative Republicans have proposed a financial rescue package of tax breaks and a new government-sponsored insurance program for mortgage-backed securities.

JPMorgan takes over Washington Mutual

In the biggest bank failure in history, the US government has closed struggling Washington Mutual, allowing JPMorgan to buy its operations.

Economists warn against rushed rescue

More than 150 prominent US economists, including three Nobel Prize winners, have urged the US Congress to hold off on passing the financial market rescue plan.

Popular anger puts fat cat CEOs on run

An angry US public and Congress pushed today to snip the rip cord on golden parachutes used by fat cat CEOs to escape Wall Street's mayhem.

'Fundamental' agreement on bailout plan

Anne Davies, Washington US lawmakers have reached a "fundamental agreement" on a $US700 billion plan to bailout US financial markets.

China ready to assist in US drama

P. Parameswaran, New York Cash-rich China weighs in on US financial crisis, with Premier Wen Jiabao stressing need for concerted efforts to contain the turmoil.

US seen losing financial superpower status

Financial meltdown on Wall Street may reorder the world economy, Germany's finance minister says, blasting an "exaggerated fixation" on returns.

Sage of Omaha shows the way

Michael West The US Government is using scare tactics to sell its bailout plan, but no one can be sure whether throwing $US700b at unsaleable assets will stabilise the financial system.

Bush hits the panic button on crisis

Anne Davies, Washington and Peter Martin US President due to meet the two men seeking to replace him in Washington after warning that bipartisan support for his $US700 billion economic rescue plan needed to avoid "long painful recession".

Paulson agrees to address CEO pay caps

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke have urged a sceptical US Congress to put the proposed financial bailout plan in place swiftly as the whole economy is at risk.

US facing 'grave threats' to financial stability

Federal Reserve chairman says the US is facing 'grave threats' to financial stability and warns the credit crisis has started to damage household and business spending.

Goldman sells $6b stock, doubling planned offer

Goldman Sachs has undertaken a huge capital-raising program that includes an investment of at least $US5 billion from Warren Buffett and a common stock offering for another $US5 billion.

Surreal wait as Washington ponders fate of market

MALCOLM MAIDEN Developments that in normal times would be considered sea changes for investor sentiment continued yesterday, but they are straws in the wind.

'King Henry' Paulson at the pinnacle of power

The US government's plan to buy up to $840 billion in illiquid bank assets marks another step in US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's ascension to the pinnacle of power.

Battle heats up over US bailout

US senators dig in their heels against dire warnings from the government of recession if Congress does not quickly approve its $840 billion bailout plan.

Asian hedge funds fear short-selling ban

Asian hedge fund managers are waiting with dread to see if tough new short selling restrictions sweep across the region.

Fed sets up swap line with RBA

The US central bank has set up $US30 billion worth of currency swaps with the RBA and other banks, in a bid to ease credit market strains.

FBI probes finance giants for fraud

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing allegations of fraud by 26 Wall Street firms, including several investment giants whose collapse sent world markets into turmoil.

The mother of all rip-offs

MICHAEL WEST If the US Government's bailout plan wants to restore confidence in Wall Street it could start with capping the exorbitant salaries of failed managers.

Buffett buys into Goldman Sachs

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is buying $US5 billion of Goldman Sachs stock, sending US index futures soaring.

Paulson warns of dire consequences if bailout delayed

Architects of a $US700 billion bailout plan urge US lawmakers to act swiftly or face dire economic consequences.

Too many rules may be overkill: economist

Ian Munro New York A FORMER International Monetary Fund chief economist has warned that excessive regulation of the financial sector is a likely outcome of the Wall Street meltdown.

Financial crisis takes centre stage at UN

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a summit of leaders of the world's main economic powers to examine the lessons learned from the current financial crisis.

Bailout details still a mystery

How will the US government mop up the bad mortgage debt on banks' books, who will run the process and how much will it cost?

Big bets off table for Morgan Stanley, Goldman

The reorganisation of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs marks a historic end to a period of investment banks driving Wall Street and leaves open who will assume the role of taking big risks that have powered the market's booms and busts.

Rescue to include foreign banks

Anne Davies Washington correspondent THE US Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, has urged other countries to follow the US lead by establishing similar bail-out funds for institutions burdened with toxic assets that are dragging down world financial markets.

Hurdles remain even as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs evolve into banks

MALCOLM MAIDEN Once the excitement is over, short-selling can resume its legitimate place in the market.

• Goldman, Morgan Stanley no longer investment banks

Morgan Stanley to sell stake to Mitsubishi

Morgan Stanley agrees to sell an equity stake of as much as $US8.5 billion to top Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

Lehman Europe wants billions back

LEHMAN BROTHERS in Europe has asked its US counterpart to give back more than $US8 billion ($10 billion) it says was trapped when Lehman's holding company filed for bankruptcy protection in New York a week ago.

Oil surges $US25 in one day

Oil climbs more than $US25 a barrel, the biggest gain ever, as the US dollar weakens the most against the euro since January 2001.

Bailout plan a bureaucratic nightmare

John Berry, Bloomberg Dealing with the disaster in US financial markets requires extreme measures, and cleaning up the mess will cause a mess of another kind.

Rocky reception greets US bailout

Chris Zappone If the proposed $US700 billion bailout of the US financial system hits a snag, it will come from Congress adding provisions to the bill.

Congress urged to back $US700b bailout

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urges Congress to swiftly pass an unprecedented $US700 billion financial rescue plan.

• US stock, bond futures drop on rescue details

Goldman, Morgan Stanley no longer investment banks

In a move that fundamentally changes one of the mainstay models of modern Wall Street, the Fed has approved the applications of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to become bank holding companies.

US brings out big guns to fix credit crisis

The US government has pledged $60 billion to guarantee money-market mutual funds and is crafting a sweeping plan to mop up toxic mortgage debt.

• Wall Street US shares soar another day

Get shorty - global crackdown on short selling

Regulators around the world banned or limited short-selling of financial shares on Friday, igniting share rallies but also sparking hefty criticism.

Fixing a broken system

Anne Davies in Washington The spectre of the Great Depression informed this week's rescue measures, writes Anne Davies in Washington.

The great unravelling

Janine Perrett A star-spangled spanner in the works has changed the tune of the brave and the free market, writes Janine Perrett.

US proposes fund to mop up toxic debt

The US government begins shopping around a plan to create a fund to clean up the housing-related bad debt that has blown big holes in bank balance sheets.

• Wall Street Shares rally on hopes of crisis solution

Morgan Stanley talks to China's CIC, Wachovia

Morgan Stanley is in talks to sell a larger equity stake to China Investment Corp at the same time it is in merger talks with Wachovia and other banks.

Lloyds may offload HBOS Australia

The Australian operations of HBOS may be sold after Lloyds TSB acquired the British mortgage lender.

Central banks in rescue bid

Jacob Saulwick, Mark Metherell and Phillip Coorey Bankers and regulators across the globe are scrambling to contain the growing financial crisis.

Governments and regulators can blame themselves

MICHAEL WEST New laws, new regulators, new people and a new approach are required to meet the financial crisis.

Lloyds comes to HBOS's rescue

Paola Totaro London BRITAIN'S largest mortgage lender, Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), has agreed to a £12.2 billion ($27 billion) rescue by Lloyds TSB, though institutional shareholders expressed dissatisfaction over the terms.

Panic hits Wall Street titans left standing

Ben White and Eric Dash EVEN Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, the two last giants left standing on Wall Street, are no longer immune.

US forced to seek cash for Fed

The US government seeks to raise $US40 billion in a bid to boost the Federal Reserve's financial firepower to fight a crisis of confidence that has rocked Wall Street and beyond.

Morgan Stanley, Wachovia in merger talks

Morgan Stanley chief executive John Mack received a call from Wachovia indicating interest in buying the investment bank, the New York Times reported.

Workers brace for next disaster

Wall Street workers take little comfort from AIG's rescue and instead try to guess who will get swept away next.

AIG, Lehman collapses may spur fire sales

Lehman Brothers's collapse and Merrill Lynch's takeover by Bank of America are the first examples of what bankers say will be a spate of takeovers.

Washington Mutual up for sale

Washington Mutual, the giant US savings and loan beleaguered by mortgage losses, has put itself up for sale, sources said.

Going gets tough, so Bush tries socialism

IAN VERRENDER He wanted to be known as the man who fostered free market democracy through the Middle East. Instead, George Bush, arguably the most incompetent US president ever, is destined to be remembered as the man who revived socialism for the 21st century.

US bails out AIG

In a bid to prevent further economic turmoil, the US Federal Reserve has agreed to provide a $107 billion emergency loan to rescue AIG.

• Video: Malcolm Maiden on the AIG rescue

Fed leaves interest rates steady

The Federal Reserve leaves its main interest rate at 2%, rebuffing calls by some investors for a cut after Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy shakes markets worldwide.

World's biggest insurer could fall next

Jacob Saulwick and Jessica Irvine THE world's largest insurer and a pillar of its financial system, American International Group, could dwarf Lehman Brothers as the biggest casualty of the crisis engulfing global markets.

Where we go from here is in the hands of investors

ELIZABETH KNIGHT There was an eerie feeling in financial markets around the world yesterday as investors and central banks alike sensed the momentum of the credit crisis had overtaken efforts to keep the damage under control.

HBOS shares slump 60% in Lehman's wake

Shares in HBOS, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, fell as much as 60% in the wake of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and amid fears of further market turmoil.

Barclays snaps up Lehman assets

Barclays will buy bankrupt Lehman Brothers' main investment banking assets for $2.2 billion.

Fed repaid JPMorgan $US87b for Lehman financing

The New York Federal Reserve intervened aggressively to shore up the US financial system this week, providing at least $US87 billion to help underpin trades with bankrupt Lehman Brothers.

AIG on the brink as hopes mount for rescue

The Federal Reserve is considering extending a ''loan package'' to American International Group, the insurer facing a cash shortage.

Goldman Sachs posts worst quarter since IPO

Goldman Sachs's third-quarter profit falls a record 70% as revenue from advising corporations and trading stocks declines.

Banks wary of Lehman plague

MICHAEL WEST The implications of the present crisis for any company with high debt levels or a large derivatives exposure are unpalatable - see Babcock & Brown today.

Barclays eyes Lehman assets

Lehman Brothers is in talks to sell parts of the company to Barclays.

CEO's subprime bets undermined Lehman

Richard Fuld, a one-time international squash player accustomed to playing the angles, finally found one he couldn't master.

So long, and thanks for the bonuses

MICHAEL WEST The bankers have all banked their million-dollar bonuses, billions in savings have been blown up and, now the party is over, the US Government is bailing out Wall Street again.

Lehman nears investment unit sale

SEPTEMBER 16: Lehman Brothers is in discussions to sell its investment-management unit to private- equity bidders including Bain Capital, Clayton Dubilier & Rice and Hellman & Friedman.

Lehman owes largest unsecured creditors $US157b

SEPTEMBER 16: Lehman Brothers owes its 10 largest unsecured creditors more than $US157 billion, including debts to bondholders totaling $US155 billion.

B&B caught in Lehman fallout

SEPTEMBER 16: Babcock & Brown shares plunge 35% to a record low.

Lehman's fate may trigger re-ordering of global finances

MALCOLM MAIDEN SEPTEMBER 16: US regulators appear to believe a purge is needed for the market's long-term health.

• Video: Malcolm Maiden

Fed bends liquidity rules to ease woes in Lehman crisis

Craig Torres and Liz Capo McCormick, Washington SEPTEMBER 16: The Federal Reserve has widened the collateral it accepts for loans to securities companies to include stocks in an effort to help Wall Street weather Lehman Brothers' plans for bankruptcy.

Nightmare on Wall Street, and your street

Jacob Saulwick and Clancy Yeates SEPTEMBER 16: The firestorm in the US financial sector has escalated almost beyond imagination. Two pillars of investment banking failed to survive the weekend, while there are fears the world's largest insurer is on the brink of collapse.

Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch

Madlen Read and Tim Paradis SEPTEMBER 16: Bank of America is buying the Wall Street investment banking icon Merrill Lynch for about $US50 billion ($61 billion) in a deal that creates the world's largest financial services company.

The next big bang is private equity

IAN VERRENDER SEPTEMBER 16: "Ladies and gentleman, there is absolutely no cause for alarm. Oxygen masks will be lowered as we head into a gentle nosedive. Please assume crash positions."

Suitors snub Lehman the lemming

Yalman Onaran and Christopher Scinta, New York SEPTEMBER 16: Lehman Brothers Holdings, the fourth-largest US investment bank, has succumbed to the subprime mortgage crisis it helped create in the biggest bankruptcy filing in history.

Lehman collapses, Wall St fights meltdown

Michael West SEPTEMBER 15: As Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy, US authorities and Wall Street banks are pulling out all stops to avert a collapse of the global banking system.

ASX suspends Lehman

Vanessa O'Shaughnessy SEPTEMBER 15: Lehman Brothers Australia has had its status as an ASX market participant suspended.

Lehman to be split in rescue bid

Eric Dash and Ben White, New York SEPTEMBER 15: Fate of Lehman Brothers hangs in balance as US Federal Reserve officials and leaders of major financial institutions meet with no agreement on plan to rescue stricken bank.

Key Lehman facts

SEPTEMBER 10: Five key facts about Lehman Brothers

• Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy filing