Lehman Brothers building, originally uploaded by Vidiot

In Frantic Day, Wall Street Banks Teeter:

In one of the most extraordinary days in Wall Street’s history, Merrill Lynch is near an 11th-hour deal with Bank of America to avert a deepening financial crisis while another storied securities firm, Lehman Brothers, hurtled toward liquidation, according to people briefed on the deal.
The dramatic turn of events was prompted by the cataclysm of losses that has shaken the American financial industry over the last 14 months.
The moves came after a weekend of frantic negotiations between federal officials and Wall Street executives over how to avert a downward spiral in the markets. Questions still remain about how the market will react and whether other firms may still falter like A.I.G., the large insurer, and Washington Mutual, both of whose stocks fell precipitously last week.

This is bad. Subsequently, this makes securing affordable credit that much harder, pushing corporate expansion, construction and will affect the solvency of many other institutions. Monday will not be a good day on the Street.