Can Lehman Brothers survive as an independent firm?

More people are starting to wonder whether Lehman Brothers has a future as an independent firm. The fact is, despite a lot of noise to the contrary, Lehman Brothers remained a bond shop. When times were good, it said it was trying to leverage its bond competencies to become more of a full service firm. But that clearly hasn't happened. The bitter fruits of those efforts are being laid bare by the current crisis. Given the reduced potential in bond and bond-like structured finance, is there any point in talking about whether Lehman can someday join the ranks of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley? Well, Bear Stearns couldn't--and it was a bond house, plus a clearing house. The issue now is, who will be able to buy it? CNBC notes mere speculation about The Blackstone Group. One can also add J.C. Flowers and Citadel.

For more:
- here's a New York Times article
- CNBC discusses a possible sale of the firm. Video