Newspaper wrap-up: Credit crisis catches up to Lehman Brothers

MAJOR PAPERS:

In a diversification move, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc (NYSE: MSO) will reportedly acquire the media and licensed properties of well-known TV chef Emeril Lagasse for $45M in cash and $5M in stock, according to the Wall Street Journal.
According to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street," the current quarter for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE: LEH) will not be good and it also has a sizable amount of commercial real estate loans which could lead to bigger write-downs. The latest estimates are of an approximate $1.3B write-down, above recent estimates, and higher than the $830M in the fourth quarter.

OTHER PAPERS:

The Australian Financial Review reported that General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) has emerged as a new contender for Allco Finance Group's transport leasing, property and power assets.

WEB SITES:

Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT) is suing Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) claiming the company violated seven U.S. patents covering mobile-communications technology, Bloomberg reported. Research in Motion also filed a suit against Motorola claiming the company infringed on Research in Motion patents.

Tags: Allco, Allco Finance Group, AllcoFinanceGroup, Emeril Lagasse, EmerilLagasse, GE, General Electric, GeneralElectric, LEH, Lehman Brothers, LehmanBrothers, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, MarthaStewartLivingOmnimedia, MOT, Motorola, MSO, Research in Motion, ResearchInMotion, RIMM, write downs, WriteDowns