See Dick Testify; Citi and Wells Fargo Take A Time Out

See Dick Testify Citi and Wells Fargo Take A Time OutSee Dick Testify Citi and Wells Fargo Take A Time OutLike a married man being interrogated by his wife for an alleged extramarital affair, Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld sat in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today, answering questionsconcerning his inolvement in the bankruptcy of his 158-year old, now dead firm. For nearly two hours Fuld deflected accusations that he misled investors and profited at the expense of shareholders, holding firmly to the advice given to me by a college roommate with questionable ethics on what to do if a significant other ever accuses you of cheating Deny Till You Die.It was clear that the members of Congress posing question after question, at times trying very hard totrip up the CEO, werent buyingDicks innocence. At one point, Henry Waxman, chairman of the committee, said to Fuld, I dont accept the fact that you assert the system worked when you lost your stock. And in c losing,he added, You dont seem to acknowledge that you did anything wrong.One thing seems to be certain whether or elend Fuld will be held accountable will not bring back the lost severance of numerous Lehman employees whose units fell under the bankruptcy, or the value of the shares held by Lehmans investors.While Fuld was testifying, the stock market was imploding on news that overseas governments had been forced to jump into the bailout game, but thanks to a late rally the Dow only finished down 3.8 percent.And just after the market closed, more news surfaced about the battle over Wachovia, as Citi and Wells Fargo agreed to take a time out of sorts allparties involved have temporarily suspended their fight in court in what seems to be a way to allowan agreement to be made without the law involved (earlier today Citi filed a $60 billion lawsuit against Wells Fargo,claiming thatit had shaken on a deal with the Charlotte-based bank before Wells made its offer). So, it appears that C iti could get Wachovias consumer banking business after all, with the rest of Wachoviagoing to Wells Fargo. The time out lasts until Wednesday, so stay tuned forround four of that dramatic fight. In the meantime, heres a tale of the tape, showing how Citistacksup againstWells FargoHeadquartersC New YorkWF San Francisco Marketing SloganC Citi Never SleepsWF The Next Stage EmployeesC 374,000WF 160,500 Total Assets C $2.1 trillionWF $609 billion Market CapC $95 billionWF $111 billion2007 Net Income C $3.617 billionWF $8.057 billion 2007 Net Profit Margin C 4.78%WF 20.45% 2nd Quarter 2008 Net Income C $-2.5 billionWF $1.75 billion 2nd Quarter 2008 Net Profit MarginC -11.5%WF 15.3 %Share Price Decrease TodayC 5.1%WF 2.7%