Will today be Lehman's last day as an independent firm? Last-minute discussions continue with several possible rescuers, including Bank of America and possibly Barclays, and the Fed has said it has no plans to bail out the nation's fourth-largest investment bank. [WSJ, NYT, Bloomberg]
The mood among Lehman employees is understandably grim. Some 24,000 employees have lost an estimated $10 billion or more in paper wealth in the last few days. [NYT, WSJ]
Washington Mutual's stock has been battered this week, although the bank is now scrambling to try and restore investor confidence. [WSJ]
All financials have been hard hit, but Merrill's shares fell nearly 17 percent on Thursday as investors wondered if Merrill would be the next to face questions about its survival. [Dealbook]
Goldman Sachs may incur losses of $2 billion from its remaining exposure to troubled assets, says an analyst who cut his third-quarter earnings outlook for the company. [Dealbook]
Bristol-Myers Squibb is standing by its $60-a-share offer for ImClone Systems, a day after the biotech company controlled by Carl Icahn spurned Bristol's offer. [Reuters]
The average hedge fund has lost more than 4 percent this year, which means working at a hedge fund isn't nearly as lucrative as it used to be. [NYT]
