Lehman, a 158-year-old firm that started as an Alabama cotton brokerage, and Merrill, with its trademark bull logo, have been pillars of the Wall Street for much of the past century, the Wall Street Journal noted.
With the demise of Bear Stearns, three of the Street's five major independent brokers could end up disappearing, leaving only Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley.
The convulsions could lead to even tighter credit, higher borrowing costs and moribund capital markets, as securities firms and commercial banks try to further limit risk and preserve capital.
Those moves could cause the US economy to slow further, it added.
Image: People walk past the headquarters of the investment bank, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc | Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images
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