Some Lehman Brothers employees get back to work

Jim Kim — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:07:40 -0400

Lehman's U.S. employees, most of whom are in investment banking, trading, research and related jobs, now work for Barclays Capital. All told, Barclays has offered jobs to more than 10,000 domestic Lehman Brothers employees. They should consider themselves lucky. It's no doubt been a rough spell, wondering whether they had a job or not. Not much work got done. As for employees in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, they will have to wait to see how Nomura proceeds. One issue is whether the Lehman Brothers brand will be brought back to life. The AP reports Barclays has a two-year lease to use the Lehman name. The company is considering the issue. One could easily argue that it is tainted beyond use at this point. But that is for Barclays to decide. All in all, it's these sorts of times that lead people look deep inside themselves. They usually find gold.

For more:
- here's the article
- Barclays stamps brand on Lehman already. Article

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley lead in commodities

Thu, 22 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

We noted recently that hedging commodities poses big risks for traditional hedgers, ag companies, airlines, energy companies and the like. Big farm corporation Bunge stands as a cautionary tale. There is indeed a fine line between hedgers and speculators at times. But for the Wall Street dealers, soaring commodity prices and the need for companies to hedge has created a nice revenue stream, notes the Globe and Mail. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley lead the pack, each enjoying a more than 40 percent market share in OTC commodity derivatives (Greenwich Associates). Barclays Capital and JP Morgan also are major players. The most sophisticated hedgers: BP, Exxon Mobil, Lufthansa, Royal Dutch Shell and Southwest Airlines, the survey found.

For more:
- here's the Globe and Mail item