This week marked the first anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the watershed event of the near financial collapse. The New York Times paid the event the appropriate homage with its report of the winners and losers of the past year. www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/business/11views.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=financial.
The losers have been clearly identified. Lehman and Bear Stearns of course, who did not survive. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, American International Group and Citi Bank are all on life support. The winners? It seems JP Morgan Chase is the strongest. They incorporated Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual and have repaid the government TARP monies. Wells Fargo who was able to raise needed recovery money from private investors and Goldman Sachs who recently converted to a commercial bank in order to qualify for FDIC insurance all seem to be on the right road..
On a day when seemingly conflicting reports of a drop in unemployment and an unexpected decline in housing both make news, it seems that only one thing is clear. The story of winners and losers is far from over.
By Myron Gushlak
