Lehman Brothers, an investment bank based in New York, is in trouble.
Over the last 14 years, chief executive Dick Fuld (nickname The Gorilla), had transformed the bank into one of the most competitive on Wall Street.
Since 2004, Lehman Brothers has expanded rapidly into mortgage lending. Now it is stuck with around £40bn of commercial-property assets in a property slump, and significant exposure to debt trading in a credit crunch.
The share price has plummeted, from $60 in January, to $30 in June, and from $15 to $4 during September.
Last week Fuld announced a bold recovery plan, hoping the market would regain faith in the bank's prospects. But the share price seems to be continuing to fall.
Prospective buyers (e.g. Barclays) have said they would like government guarantees. But the U.S. government has a lot on its plate at the moment.
If no buyer comes forward, it remains to be seen how long Lehman Brothers can survive.
