Lehman Brothers has had a problem for some time. Despite being all dressed up and ready to party the night away it could never find a suitable partner. The dating agencies and marriage counsellors did their best but to no avail. Lehman was no gliding swan but neither was it the ugly duckling of old. In the Wall Street beauty parade Lehman was considered to be slightly gauche but the general agreement was that it had become 'definitely fanciable'.

But has Lehman's love boat finally come home? The news that the firm has been seen openly courting in public with the privately owned but supremely rich Fidelity has set all the Wall Street tongues wagging and bankers racing to dust off their morning coats in expectation of an early wedding.