by Tanta on 9/18/2007 08:18:00 AM

Daytraders and global stuffees bail out real estate specuvestors! Or something. (Hat tip Turbo, who observes that the TEOTWAWKI has been postponed another quarter):

Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the largest U.S. underwriter of mortgage-backed bonds, said profit fell less than expected as fees from equities trading and investment banking offset some losses from subprime home loans.

Net income fell 3 percent to $887 million, or $1.54 a share, in the third quarter from $916 million, or $1.57, a year earlier, the New York-based company said today in a statement. The average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was $1.48 a share.

Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld's efforts to reduce the reliance on fixed income by expanding stock trading and merger advice solidified earnings as contagion in the credit markets spread, led by defaults among home-loan borrowers with poor credit histories. Lehman is cutting about 2,000 mortgage-related jobs. Revenue from equities jumped 64 percent to $1.37 billion.