Decayed decade

Lehman Brothers is blaming rumour-mongering short-sellers for investors’ shortage of confidence. Yet the Wall Street firm isn’t alone in taking its shareholders back about 10 years as the credit crunch has advanced. Citigroup, Washington Mutual, UBS and others are deeper in the mire. So too are some blue-chip stalwarts like Coca-Cola. In fact, the Missing Decade Club’s financial roster is becoming crowded. The KBW bank index is trading more than 30% below its mid-1998 level, confirming that the...