This company founded in 1850 has survived at least two economic depressions, several recessions, a Civil War, two World Wars, the rise and fall of communism, global upheavals and countless changes in the marketplace. Yet it is not without its irony that the downfall of Lehman Brothers will forever be linked to the greed and incompetence of its own management.

(ZT)
Wow - the financial players are rapidly shrinking faster than anyone thought possible. NYC will undoubtedly have a huge fiscal mess on their hands as predicted revenue streams are slashed by 20%+ the black monday. The Democrats in Albany will not not cut any spending? From net capital gains to capital losses and then capital loss carry forward means 2+ years much needed tax revenue up in smoke. Go ahead Obama - raise capital gains taxes and over-tax the 'wealthy' during this time of crisis to increase government spending and programs. Washington will create jobs with tax $'s better than any 'wealthy' individual who owns a small business or those who might create new jobs by spending or investing incremental additional income. The end result will be massive defecits and loss of jobs for years to come. The last thing this country needs is Obamas reckless economic plan in which we take 7 steps back and 8 forward (3 years from now) The house of Pain. The 10 year yield will hit 3.05 in this panic by year end and then rates will sky rocket unless we cut govenment spending and taxes starting 2009. Unfortunately, these 'good' 200K+ Wall Street jobs that have been forever lost will have a massive negative impact on the North East real estate prices, retail sales, restaurants, and general economy. The biggest risk to the economy is 3 or more years of shrinking tax revenue from a collapse of more than 30% from the highs (quick recovery unlikely) in our capital markets. It will now be increasingly more difficult to stop this financial tsunami now. I am very worried about what happens next ....