Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers both beat analyst estimates with lower-than-expected first-quarter profit falls today, helping to dispel some of the gloom on Wall Street after the shock sale of Bear Stearns at the weekend and a plunge in financial stocks yesterday.
Lehman, whose shares closed yesterday down nearly a fifth on fears over liquidity and asset concentration as well as a rating outlook downgrade, reported net profits of $489m (â¬310m), or $0.81 per diluted common share.