Lehman tumbled into its $639 billion bankruptcy, the biggest in US history, because it didn’t have enough liquidity and lost the confidence of its counterparties, according to a 2,200-page report from Anton Valukas, the US Trustee-appointed examiner.
By changing guarantee agreements and making new demands for collateral, JP Morgan and Citigroup helped to precipitate the liquidity crisis that doomed Lehman, Mr Valukas said. “The demands for collateral by Lehman’s lenders had direct impact on Lehman’s liquidity pool,” he said. “Lehman’s available liquidity is central to the question of why Lehman failed.”
Lehman …

After years of fighting in court, lawyers representing the city, construction companies and more than 10,000 ground zero rescue and recovery workers have agreed to a settlement that could pay up to $657.5 million to responders sickened by dust from the destroyed World Trade Center.
The settlement was announced Thursday evening by the WTC Captive Insurance Co., a special entity established to indemnify the city and its contractors against potential legal action as they moved to clean up the site after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The deal, which still must …

With statewide races heating up and Republicans nationwide sensing opportunity for big wins at the polls, the GOP faithful are gathering this weekend in one of the bluest counties in one of the bluest states.
More than 1,000 activists will stage the California Republican Party’s spring convention at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The Tea Party Express bus will be here. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will be here, introducing an eagerly anticipated speech by gubernatorial front-runner Meg Whitman. All three of the contenders in an increasingly vicious U.S. Senate primary …

The website name was last bought in 2006 for a reported record $14 million backed by DOM Partners LLC, a lender from New Jersey. Sex.com’s record title has been broken by Insure.com, which sold for a reported $16 million last year.
But the lender is now foreclosing the Internet property after the owner Escom failed to pay its loan. Bidding, which is due to start on March 18, should start at $1 million, or £670,000.
Auctions for simple domain names are usually seen as a good opportunity for internet entrepreneurs. In the …

Swiss Reinsurance Co. said Wednesday that the strong earthquake in Chile last month will cost the insurance industry $4-7 billion, an estimate shared by its Germany-based rival Munich Re AG.
Swiss Re said it is common practice for property owners in Chile to buy earthquake insurance, meaning the temblor would result in significant claims for property damage and disruption of business.
The 8.8-magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami killed more than 450 people and damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings.
Zurich-based Swiss Re said it alone expects to make a pretax payout of …