ONE of the world's biggest investment banks has today said that it will file for bankruptcy in a move that will spread further unease about the state of global economies.
American financial giant Lehman Brothers is to file a petition under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The move usually allows companies to reorganise their contractual and debt obligations under the supervision of a bankruptcy court.

In what is being described as the Mother of all Mondays, the fabled Wall Street will never be the same again. Financial commentators are talking about a tectonic shift that will change the face of the world's banking sector as we know it. Markets world wide are reeling from the after effects of the triple shock of Lehman Brothers going into bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch being sold to BofA in a distress sale for $ 50 billion, and AIG asking the Fed for a $ 40 billion bailout. The FTSE dropped 200 points, or around 3% in early trades.

Former US Fed governor Alan Greenspan describes it as a 'once in a century' event, and the 'worst' he's seen in his career. Lehman Brothers, which has survived over 150 years, finally went into Chapter 11 late Sunday night, putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk all over the world. Merrill Lynch, the other Wall Street major, narrowly avoided Lehman's fate by agreeing to be bought by BofA for USD 50 billion – again raising the spectre of an uncertain future for its thousands of global employees. The US government, which bailed out Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Bear Sterns, put its foot down with Lehman, and last minute potential buyers like Barclays walked out late Sunday night.