Lehman finds itself the focus of failure
After 9/11, Lehman Brothers moved its headquarters from Wall Street to near Times Square, where the new building's garish light displays fit right in. That didn't put it on the official tourist map -- until today's events. Sally Herships reports.
The headquarters of the Lehman Brothers investment bank on Sixth Avenue in New York City. (Michael Nagle/Getty Images)
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Two men hug outside the Lehman Brothers headquarters building in New York City on Monday.
An employee of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. carries a box out of the company's headquarters on Monday.
TEXT OF STORY
KAI RYSSDAL: The shorthand is to say that the collapse of Lehman Brothers is the biggest Wall Street disaster in decades. Which would be right, except that Lehman doesn't really live on Wall Street anymore. Like a lot of other financial firms, Lehman moved out of Lower Manhattan after the attacks of September 11th. It has a trading floor in the North Tower that day. A couple of years ago it opened a fancy new building just north of Times Square. It fit right in. Lighted wall displays flashing on and off 24 hours a day That wasn't quite enough to put the building on the official tourist map of New York. But today's events seem to have changed all that. Sally Herships reports.
SALLY HERSHIPS: It's not often that an investment bank gets the kind of attention reserved for rock stars. But the world's press staked out the Lehman Brothers building today. They were joined by throngs of tourists. Lehman employees had to fight their way out to the street.
FEMALE EMPLOYEE 1: It's reminding me of September 11th all over again. People posing in front of, like, ruins that are still smoking. You know it's . . . You know, I understand it's sensational but, you know, it's really disrespectful and it's really insensitive.
This woman along with the other Lehman employees I spoke to didn't want their names on the radio. But all said they were upset by the news that the government let Lehman fail.
MALE EMPLOYEE 1: I wouldn't have even taken the risk. I would have bailed Lehman out. I mean I won't even talk about what we spend in a week in Iraq. But, you know, given the risks involved, this could be a huge mistake.
This employee seemed a little more understanding:
MALE EMPLOYEE 2: This is how the market works. This is how the market works, you know? So everybody was having a party and they were all caught naked. What can you do?
This consultant believes that government sends a message to the markets.
CONSULTANT: Well it felt like they were using Lehman as an example. That's just my opinion.
I asked the lehman staffers the question that everyone is asking now: What's next?
Man: I think . . . Get some lunch. Catch our breath . . .
Woman: That's a good question. I don't know. Look for a job?
With thousands of other bankers on the street looking for jobs, they may be looking at a different career all together.
In New York, I'm Sally Herships for Marketplace.
Comments
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From Sa n Mateo, CA, 09/15/2008
For all the times when Suits and investment banks have demanded higher and higher profits from the companies and demanded downsizing and laying off employees by the thousands... (HP 22k today alone) I am really glad the chickens have come home to roost. Maybe after all these financial analysts experience the uncertainties of losing ones job, paying a mortgage and feeding their kids while on unemployment lines, they will think twice about suggesting "downsizing." Then again, it's probably too much to ask... I probably should not be holding my breath. In the mean time, looking at all these banks failing, I just think that it could not have happened to a nicer bunch of people. /Schadenfreude
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