The Wall Street Journal

Mortgage Fear Moves Over to Lehman, Again 

Last month, it was fear that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. [stock LEH][/stock] would need capital to survive as an independent mortgage bank; this month, it’s an emerging consensus that mortgage and related asset-backed woes are likely to yet again tug at the Wall Street firm’s bottom line. After inexplicably expecting Lehman to post a Q3 profit in the wake of second quarter’s $2.8 billion loss — the company’s first loss since going public — analysts are realizing that the bank still has some writing down to do.