The situation described in this Financial Times story is not earth shaking in dollar terms, but illustrates that corporate bankruptcies leave a trail of destruction in their wake. A number of funds were caught when Lehman failed, and the UK bankruptcy process may take a decade to resolve, leaving assets frozen in the meantime:
Several companies reliant on four US hedge funds face collapse because the funds cannot access shares and loans held at the London arm of Lehman Brothers, the collapsed bank.
The four funds – whose names were kept secret in a High Court ruling this week – claimed that they were likely to close in mid-December if they failed to get access to information about their assets frozen at Lehman. The funds made an unsuccessful effort to force the administrators of Lehman, four PwC partners, to give them details of their assets and how much they owe to Lehman.
The funds are likely to be followed by “numerous” others of the 1,000 former clients of the Lehman prime brokerage, Lehman Brothers International (Europe), according to PwC…
In his ruling, Mr Justice Blackburne said the funds argued that, if they could not get information on their assets by mid-December, “it is likely that the funds will be wound down forthwith”. As well as job losses, “the funds’ inability to engage in restructuring will probably lead to the collapse of at least four companies in which securities are held”.
Jonathan Kelly, a lawyer at Simmons & Simmons, said the decision was further proof that the UK courts were taking a hard line on claims against Lehman’s main European arm.
“The High Court is really desperate to illustrate that it is not going to take the place of the administrators in resolving these issues,’’ Mr Kelly said. “To do otherwise could open the floodgates.”
The judge said in his ruling that he was “sympathetic” to the plight of the funds but it would be wrong to overrule the approach being taken by the administrators, which PwC has said could take months.
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I have been working together to fix this URGENT PROBLEM!
Well we think we have a WINNER!
Its called the Asian Brothel buy back scam
I have sent our proposal to the Congress, Senate and FOX NEWS.
We recommend the rounding up of all Top Executives, Board Members, Major Shareholders, Managers and Sales reps responsible for Inventing, Promoting and Implementing the banking and trading policies that brought on the present situation which will affect all Americans even though they had nothing to do with it.
Now after securing all in question they should be marched in single file down Wall street till they run the the length of it on both sides and facing inwards. Now we get all the " Wage Workers " of America to line up in the middle of the street at one end, still with us?
Now the line of wage workers is going to be too long to accomplish our goal in one or two days and in fact could take much more time. Having said that we will Endeavor to " Stay the Course " and " Finnish the job no matter how long it takes "! For this is about the American People and the State of our Democrazy!
We then will need a BIG Chinese Gong to be installed on the steps of the Stock Exchange with "Properly Certified Union Fat Man dressed in white loin cloth and rubbed down with pig fat and holding safety certified big gong stick".
At the commencement of trading for the day at said " Stock Exchange " the afore mentioned "Union Member Fat Guy" will strike the Gong with a powerful blow to reverberate up and down the street for many " tense moments ". To signal "ALL" Individuals mentioned in line 1.) who will from now will be referred to as " Greedycocksuckingassholes " to drop to their " KNEES " and present facial expression " O ( as indicated in emoticons Glossary )".
When these conditions are met the " Union Member Fat Guy " will strike the BIG Gong a second time, to induce a Pavlov's dog like reaction in the afore mentioned " Greedycocksuckingassholes " and initiate " Wage Workers " to line up to one on one face to face with "Greedycocksuckingassholes " and drop their pants.
We now come to the most important and non negotiable point in this plan " insert " LONG NECK TM" pelvic region into " Greedycocksuckinassholes " cranial fore front, grab it and move like old steam engine running out of control down the mountain till expression "oO ( as indicated in emoticons Glossary ) " is achieved by afore mentioned " Wage Workers ".
The unit credit of one USD will be applied to every successful completion of the of the afore mentioned "oO " expression and repeated until the receivables amounting to 700 Billion USD is paid back.
As a non-discriminating, non-partisan, non-gender non-faithed coalition of the VERY willing we will supply at no cost to the " Wage workers of America " for those with out afore mentioned " LONG NECK TM " a prosthesis from BUTTHEAD'S HOUSE OF DILDO'S & GUNS will be gladly supplied.
This has been an insensitive infinitive initiative by American if were going to get " rolled over "* I want a reach around NGO group.
P.S. and this is on the sly Warren and I are buying all the lip balm, chapstick and lubricant stock we can get are hands on!
We fore see a massive increase in the demand for these products and get in while the getting it still good!
but illustrates that corporate bankruptcies leave a trail of destruction in their wake.
But isn’t that part of the point? When you are exposed to someone who is running their business terribly and they go bankrupt, then you institute practices to make sure that you’re not holding the bag next time.
Bankruptcy makes the system more robust, not less.
Re: The four funds – whose names were kept secret in a High Court ruling this week..
> I love a good challenge and after another glass of wine this may interest me
I would be curious Yves, if you have a clue what it will take as a watershed event for the adults to take over like in the 30’s and clean up this mess?
Obama has the luxury, if he uses it wisely, to not tip his hand until he is sworn into office. It may be evident to more adults by then that the current criminal behaviors need to stop, triage needs to be applied to the patient and new rules implemented to insure new financial “weapons of mass destruction” can not be created.
Thanks for your web site and postings Yves. It gives me hope and support for not thinking my thoughts crazy.
“The UK bankruptcy process may take a decade to resolve.”
Hence the need to bailout all the other banksters in order to mitigate the domino effect in the rest of the system. Can you imagine a decade-long unwinding of the tangled web of global proportions? Good luck Obama.
WSJ has an opinion piece suggesting we start new banks. These are bust, so start over.
Then they can bother each other to their hearts’ content (they have hearts?) about their web of CDS obligations and not bother us. I don’t think the article contemplates letting the existing banks blow up, but why not??
Anonymous at 10:02pm searching for “….watershed event….current criminal behaviors need to stop”.
One watershed event will be the day the FBI conducts a pre-dawm raid arresting several hundred Wall Street criminals (CEO, Boards, and top tier management), and perp walks them in handcuffs to federal jails. In September, the media reported the FBI is investigating 24 firms (Lehman, AIG, Fannie, Freddie, Countrywide, etc.). If the FBI will fast-track this investigation, including RICO violations, the day of reckoning might not be far off. If the investigation goes deep enough, it may lead to indictments of Hank Paulson, Ben B and other federal officials at Treasury, Federal Reserve, and SEC as co-conspirators aiding and abetting the Wall Street criminal enterprise.
A watershed event: When the iron fist of justice hits both Wall Street and federal co-conspirators.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-fi-fbi24-2008sep24,0,5876477.story
@Anon 10;02PM
Some one will go to jail over the last administrations actions, but my fear is kings don’t kill kings. Bad form and all, pay back on next swing of the winds.
Agree with you on criminality, there has to be a law of morale empathy applied to business. Rational thought must be applied to capitalism, not just expand into infinity for wealths sake. Unfortunately the game is set at winner takes all and if you can’t beat them, join them for survival reasons.
How many wonderfull ideals/innovations have been scooped up by bigger fish as it would affect their bottom line, but would have benefited all in the market/society?
I myself never fall into any one political category as I feel it limits ones options to address problems.
Thats why I feared the last Administration as they were/believed in or used a monolithic ideology and in my view point took us back to the medieval out look of the world.
This economic problem I feel is not just restricted to market mechanics/capitalism but more of a moral one, what is the sweet off our brow to mean, what is its real purpose? To give back to the tribe that supports us all or to define our selfs as different than others in the tribe.
We must find a working solution to this dilemma, America is having or will have a huge identity crises after all of this, who are we and what do we want as a collective of humans/teach our children to believe in?
Skippy