Pater Familias

Theories, observations, and articles, by Philip Schaefer · All posts · Categories

ONE MORE YEAR AND THEY WILL HAVE COUNTED THE BEANS.

September 21, 2009 · Economics, History

ONE MORE YEAR AND THEY WILL HAVE COUNTED THE BEANS. I have posted a number of times, including here, on my astonishment that the lawyers and accountants for Lehman Brothers approved the contracts they approved. After all, one of the fundamental questions in reviewing a contract is: what are the consequences if there is a default? This article by Serena Ng and Mike Spector says that: “The ghost of Lehman Brothers’ derivatives business is haunting hundreds of schools, municipalities and companies, which remain entangled in financial transactions with the failed firm.” The bean counting will take a lot longer: “Lawyers working for Lehman’s estate said it will take at least another year to sort through all the contracts to figure out exactly how much Lehman owes and is owed.”