The biggest mover of the morning was Lehman Brothers. The bank may have a potential acquirer in state-owned Korea Development Bank, which said it is interested in making acquisitions to strengthen its position ahead of an expected privatization in 2012. The news follows an analyst report from Ladenburg Thalmann & Co.'s Richard Bove, who called Lehman a "Buy" because of the possibility of a hostile takeover likely from a British, Canadian or Japanese bank.
The biggest loser of the day thus far is Freddie Mac, followed by Fannie Mae. Both were the topic of discussion for Warren Buffett, who appeared Friday morning on CNBC, saying "Game Over" for the two mortgage finance companies. But Freddie's retreat was nearly double Fannie's. The likely explanation is the rumor that Freddie reportedly was talking with PE firms about selling a stake in itself. - Matthew Wurtzel
Troubled Wall Street
Prices as of noon |
| Name |
Open |
Price at noon |
Change |
Mkt cap |
| J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. |
37.22 |
37.47 |
1.21 |
128785.88 |
| Lehman Brothers Inc. |
15.8 |
15.11 |
1.39 |
10492.41 |
| Merrill Lynch & Co. |
25.31 |
24.70 |
0.36 |
37765.77 |
| Goldman Sachs Group Inc. |
159.99 |
157.96 |
1.54 |
62205.41 |
| Morgan Stanley |
38.03 |
38.48 |
1.42 |
42677.07 |
| Citigroup Inc. |
18.02 |
17.75 |
0.28 |
96655.73 |
| Fannie Mae |
5.21 |
4.41 |
-0.44 |
4717.78 |
| Freddie Mac |
3.48 |
2.53 |
-0.63 |
1636.30 |
| Bank of America Corp. |
29.98 |
29.57 |
0.53 |
134826.57 |
| Wachovia Corp. |
15.48 |
14.46 |
-0.19 |
31217.04 |
Source: The Deal |
As news reports speculate about the future of various troubled financial services firms, most of the industry is up in morning trading, except for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 
