Secret phone calls being made by federal regulators to determine if Credit Suisse has pulled the remaining life line of a credit line from Lehman? Found this from a Great Site – “Your Mortgage or Your Life” about Lehman Brothers…yet another 800 pound gorilla stumbling hard in these times.

From the Financial Times:

“Lehman Brothers, the beleaguered US investment bank, held secret talks to sell up to 50 per cent of its shares to South Korean or Chinese parties in the first week of August but failed to reach agreement with either.

The South Koreans and Chinese walked away after concluding that Lehman was asking too high a price, said New York-based people familiar with the potential buyers. Lehman declined to comment.”

“The talks reflect the growing pressure on Dick Fuld, Lehman’s chief executive, to raise capital ahead of the mid-September earnings report, which, analysts said, could include more writedowns of $4bn (£2bn), bringing the total so far to $12bn. Lehman shares have fallen nearly 85 per cent since early 2007 and its market value is now about $9.5bn.