Fuld Solicited Buffett Offer CEO Could Refuse as Lehman Fizzled

(Bloomberg) It was the afternoon of Sept. 9, and tensions were rising in the 31st-floor office of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Richard S. Fuld Jr.

That morning news broke that the Korea Development Bank had pulled out of talks to buy a stake in the New York-based securities firm. By 1 p.m., Lehman's already battered stock had plunged another 43 percent.

Read the entire article

Great expectations

(Economist.com) NO ONE should doubt the magnitude of what Barack Obama achieved this week. When the president-elect was born, in 1961, many states, and not just in the South, had laws on their books that enforced segregation, banned mixed-race unions like that of his parents and restricted voting rights. This week America can claim more credibly than any other western country to have at last become politically colour-blind. Other milestones along the road to civil rights have been passed amid bitterness and bloodshed.

Read the entire article

NBER's Hall Sees `Conclusive' Evidence of Recession

(Bloomberg) The head of the panel that officially dates U.S. economic cycles said there's no doubt now that a recession is under way following a surge in the unemployment rate to a 14-year high.

``The evidence is more than compelling,'' Robert Hall, the Stanford University economist who leads the National Bureau of Economic Research's business cycle dating committee, said in an interview. ``It's conclusive, in my personal opinion.''

Read the entire article

AIG: We Need More Money

(The Big Picture-Barry Ritholtz) AIG is asking the US government for a new bail-out less than two months after the Federal Reserve came to the rescue of the stricken insurer with an $85bn loan, according to people close to the situation.

Read the entire story here

Tweedy Browne's Quarterly Letter

Read what Tweedy Browne had to say about the turbulent third quarter

Go to the letter

Q&A with Investing Legend Jim Rogers

(Time.com/Time Magazine) Jim Rogers became an investing legend in the 1970s while running a spectacularly successful hedge fund with George Soros. Since then, the Alabama native has traveled around the world more than once — on motorcycle and in a car — writing about his experiences, and his thoughts on investing, along the way. Last year, he moved to Singapore, to be close to the economic growth engine that is Asia, and also saw the launch of tradeable securities tied to a commodities index he created. TIME's Barbara Kiviat caught up with him by phone while he was on the road from Brussels to Amsterdam to ask him about what he makes of the state of the financial world today.

Read the entire article

Just How Bad Was October 2008 ?

(The Big Picture-Barry Ritholtz) Not too shabby a week -- plus 11% across the major indices, with some areas even stronger. Of course, that comes from deeply oversold levels, with stocks peak trough down 27% within October. The key question going forward is whether or not this past week's snapback rally has legs. But rather than guess about that, let's look at some of the more intriguing data points from October 2008.

Read the entire article