a real vet, but man is he gonna need some time to recover from this (for the record, I like Bove): ============================== “Bove’s mea culpa on Lehman” We like an analyst who makes a bold call. We also like to hear what they have to say when they get it wrong. So credit where it’s due - Richard X Bove, the Ladenburg Thalmann bank-watcher who shrieked “Buy Lehman” all the way down, has posted a mea culpa to clients. This result is far different than what I had envisioned for the company. It was my view three weeks ago, that the company must merge; that management would resist a takeover; and that the merger would be hostile. It was further my belief that the company’s assets were not in devastatingly bad condition. That if given time they could be worked out without a major negative impact on shareholders. Moreover, it appeared that the company had generated $3.5 billion in revenue and $0.6 billion in pretax profit excluding the write downs of questioned assets in its third fiscal quarter (ended August 31). Consequently, I moved the rating on the stock up to a Buy. This view was clearly incorrect. After extensive negotiation with other financial companies and the effected government divisions, no buyer was found and the government chose not to intervene to assist the company. Thus, we are stepping into uncharted territory.