Bloomberg News reports that Mitsubishi Financial Group denies any knowledge of a bid or interest in bidding for Lehman Brothers.
The conduct by those involved in both the financial press and the investment community in these false Lehman rumours has been disgraceful.
It deserves to be thoroughly investigated. All sales of Lehman stock of size should be recorded and examined for possible price manipulation by hedge funds and other inside trading. Lehman's use of off balance sheet entities should be examined prior to their earnings announcement.
Readers know that we have been suspicious of Lehman's claims that they were on sounder footing that the market was giving them credit for and had put the worst of their financial woes behind them. Our doubts were fueled by the number of open questions surrounding their claims of deleveraging and their extremely aggressive spin management and use of leaks to the press between earnings announcements to bolster their case. The combativeness seemed not merely to be a magnification of CEO Dick Fuld's famously pugnacious personality, but also a backs-against-the-wall reaction, a de facto admission that their situation indeed verged on desperate.
Lehman Expected to Post Another Loss
Mitsubishi UFJ Says It's Not Bidding for Lehman Stake
By Finbarr Flynn
Bloomberg News
Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest bank, denied a report it is considering entering the bidding for a stake in Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
``We are not preparing to bid or considering a bid for Lehman,'' said Takashi Miwa, a spokesman for the Tokyo-based bank.
Mitsubishi UFJ's main banking unit may seek control of Lehman, the London-based Times newspaper reported earlier, citing people close to the lender it didn't name. The Japanese bank, which has enough funding for a large acquisition, was expected to wait until after Lehman announces third-quarter results next week, the newspaper said.
Korea Development Bank this week said it's in talks to buy a stake in Lehman, the fourth-biggest U.S. securities firm. Lehman has renewed talks with Korea Development about a capital injection of as much as $6 billion, the Sunday Telegraph reported Aug. 31, without saying where it got the information.
Lehman spokesman Mark Lane declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.
Last Updated: September 3, 2008 20:00 EDT
