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First up, Reuters reports that there was speculation in European markets that Lehman Brothers is looking at first-quarter writedowns for around $15bn! The news agency says, however, that it's unnamed source 'familiar with the matter' said that the firm won't have to take writedowns anywhere near that figure. Some feel that a canny insider at Lehman is busy spreading silly rumours so that when the firm actually reveals its first-quarter writedowns, they don't seem so bad!
And FT Alphaville reports a market rumour that Bank of America (BofA) might be looking at making a bid for troubled UBS. Now, before you dismiss this, it might make some sense. A successful move by BofA would create a $260bn giant, and give the US firm both a bigger footprint in Europe and a larger franchise in wealth and asset management - areas CEO Ken Lewis has recently said are on his agenda. Cynics suggest that any BofA deal for UBS would most certainly result in the ruin of the investment bank. Realists, however, point to the fact that UBS doesn't need BofA's help to screw up its investment banking operation.
The Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Street column mentions that Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein was late for a recent investor meeting. He apologized, half in jest, saying: 'This is the wrong time to keep shareholders waiting. Maybe I should offer to wash your car or something to make up for it'. 'The wrong time' might indicate, as many feel it does, that Goldman is likely to have had a difficult first-quarter. After 10-straight quarters in a row posting higher year-over-year profits, the firm is widely thought likely to post its smallest quarterly profit for 3 years when it announces its Q1 figures next month.
Finally, BankersBall points out an item in the Economist, which made us smile. As a Citigroup banker recently placed his chips on the roulette table, a watching wise-guy cracked: 'There goes another $15bn!'.
