Life's Great Expectations!

Friday September 12, 11:11 pm ET By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer Investor confidence dwindling, Lehman Brothers may need a miracle to survive NEW YORK (AP) -- The Wall Street firm that started the U.S. cotton trade before the Civil War and financed the railroads that built a nation might soon fade into history. Just days after Lehman Brothers Chief Executive Richard S. Fuld tried to pitch Wall Street on a plan to save the firm by shrinking it, he's in complicated negotiations with potential buyers that may see the company sold piecemeal as soon as Sunday night, analysts said. "Nothing short of a miracle can save Lehman as is," said Anthony Sabino, professor of law and business at St. John's University. "It is highly unlikely Lehman will be in existence on Monday morning." Late Friday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York held an emergency meeting with top Washington policymakers and major financial institutions to discuss Lehman's future. Attend

Friday September 12, 11:09 pm ET By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer Federal officials meet with financial institutions to discuss Lehman Brothers WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York held an emergency meeting Friday night with top Washington policymakers and major financial institutions to discuss the future of Lehman Brothers. The meeting, which was attended by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, was held at the offices of New York Federal Reserve Bank president Timothy Geithner. The meeting was confirmed by Fed spokeswoman Michelle Smith. Smith refused to disclose what financial institutions participated in the meeting or whether the group had reached any conclusion over how to resolve the crisis facing Lehman Brothers. She said that in addition to Paulson and Geithner, Christopher Cox, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, was in attendance for the discussions. The private sector participants were described by Smith only as "senior