Morgan Stanley is attempting to lure hedge fund clients back to its prime brokerage (see WSJ article). As a carrot, Morgan is planning to announce that hedge fund clients will be allowed to hold some of their assets in the MS Trust National Association, instead of being held in the brokerage units of the firm (for a small fee, of course). This could be significant given that many hedge funds are worried about their assets being held in a brokerage unit after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Of interest is that assets held in the trust will not be federally insured, like deposits, but will still nonetheless probably be considered safer given their separation from the brokerage operations. It will be interesting to see if in the months to come whether or not more financial firms follow suit. In the mean time, it is one more indication (among others, see second WSJ article) that the hedge fund industry is starting to get back to normal. You can decide whether that is good or bad.

It turns out that Lehman Brothers Holdings has negotiated the return of knickknacks that were sent to Barclays by mistake (see Bloomberg article). The items are being returned so they can be sold, with the proceeds being used to pay creditors, which currently have about $200 billion in unsecured liabilities. Items for possible sale include:

"1,630 green canvas duffle bags with Lehman ribbon, 353 green compact golf umbrellas, 75 Waterford Marquis Treviso crystal clocks, 682 white Lehman coffee mugs, 130 Swiss Army pens, an English beechwood-lined sterling silver box from 1902, 200 Lehman conference pens, 12 pairs of Links of London cufflinks, 24 Screwpull wine openers inscribed “LB,’ 24 Titleist PRO VI golf balls inscribed “LB,” 30 girl Teddy Bears, 18 large, ivory womens’ F&G stretch snap shirts and one Tiffany shooting star."

For just about $62,500,000 per item, you can help eliminate this debt, and help put this bankruptcy behind all of us. And look on the bright side: at least you get an umbrella or coffee mug in return. Let the bidding begin!