Lots of bad news happened in the States over the weekend. Needless to say, the markets were in deep red worldwide on Monday. Their information are all over the Internet and heres a short summarise.
B of A, Merrill: Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) announced early Monday that it will acquire Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) for $50 billion in stock. The purchase price values the company at more than $29 a share, at least a 70% premium from Merrill's closing price on Friday of $17.05.Lehman bankruptcy: Lehman Brothers (LEH, Fortune 500) announced that it was filing for bankruptcy, ending a desperate three-day search for a buyer to save the investment bank. The filing came after Bank of America and Barclays pulled out of negotiations to acquire Lehman. Lehman shares plunged 94%.
AIG: Insurer AIG (AIG, Fortune 500), a Dow component, plunged 42% in morning trading as Wall Street awaited the details of its restructuring plan, expected to be announced Monday.
Are we to worry? Few months ago, people were still debating whether US was in recession. Now, it can be clear that perhaps even the whole world's financial system is inevitably in a recession, one of the largest financial crisis in history.
Over here in Singapore, the particular news that has direct impact are none other than the collapse of Lehman and the dark cloud over AIG. Lehman has over 3000 staff in Asia with over 270 employees at its Suntec branch. AIA being a subsidiary of AIG, would definitely have to entertain lots of calls from its customer with regards to their policy. No news released yet.
Lets hope for the better.
Over here in Singapore, the particular news that has direct impact are none other than the collapse of Lehman and the dark cloud over AIG. Lehman has over 3000 staff in Asia with over 270 employees at its Suntec branch. AIA being a subsidiary of AIG, would definitely have to entertain lots of calls from its customer with regards to their policy. No news released yet.
Lets hope for the better.
Post a Comment