Lehman Brothers posts $2.87 billion second quarter loss!

NEW YORK - June 16, 2008 - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. posted a nearly $3 billion loss Monday, after the nation's fourth-largest investment bank was hurt by wrong-way hedging and trading positions.

The results marked the first time that Lehman Brothers recorded a loss since going public in 1994, and confirmed what the company had forecast last week. It follows a tumultuous week in which Lehman also was forced to raise $6 billion in fresh capital, and unexpectedly demoted two of its top executives.

Lehman did not announce any new plans to raise capital. However, Chief Executive Richard Fuld took the blame for the company's stunning second-quarter loss, and said the investment bank was too slow in reacting to the market's tumult.

"This is my responsibility," Fuld declared. "We made active decisions to deploy our capital, some of which in hindsight were poor choices because we really didn't act quickly enough to the eroding environment."

Fuld, sounding agitated during a conference call with analysts, said the company has "made a number of changes and it is now my job to make sure we execute."

The company reported a loss of $2.87 billion, or $5.14 per share, compared with a profit of $1.26 billion, or $2.21 per share a year earlier. Markdowns on risky assets caused revenue to hit negative $668 million from last year's $5.51 billion.

Global banks and brokerages have written down nearly $300 billion worth of assets because of exposure to risky mortgage-backed securities. Lehman's business model was considered the most similar to Bear Stearns, which in March was saved from collapse through an acquisition by JPMorgan Chase & Co.