High-risk, big-bucks era wanes on Wall Street
As Wall Street reels under the collapse of two more investment banks, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Bros., who have followed the March fate of Bear Stearns, economists guess at what the future holds. The Wall Street businesses form the core of the US financial sector, which accounts for a fifth of the nation?s economic output, and employs 7% of US workers. Many predict that the downfall of the investment banks (3 down, and two more wallowing) will fundamentally alter the way Wall Street does business, and by extension, the lifestyles of its employees and the economy as a whole. Many experts expect the risk-taking attitude of Wall Street firms to fade into the background, and for the more financially stable commercial banks, such as Bank of America, to take over. Borrowing, lending and general exchange of credit is expected to go down, and the result may very well be several years of economic downturn.
See "High-risk, big-bucks era wanes on Wall Street", Walter Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, September 21, 2008