It now appears almost certain that the federal government will takeover Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE). The amount of money the Treasury will have to put into the companies to improve their balance sheets will probably wipe out common shareholders.

The news may foreshadow what will happen to Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) if its gets into more trouble The value of its commercial loan portfolio and mortgage-back securities is bound to fall as the real estate market gets worse.

Several outside investors, including Japanese broker Nomura and the Korea Development Bank, may pump money into Lehman. It is not good news that no one has pulled the trigger on putting up cash. All of the interested parties are probably waiting for Lehman's next quarterly earnings report. If the numbers are bad the value of Lehman's stock, which has gone from a 52-week high almost $68 to $16, could fall further.

The lesson from Freddie and Fannie (and, to some extent, Bear Stearns) is that the Fed and Treasury do not care about common shareholders. They get to go down with the ship.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) stock is up over 10% as of 9:44 a.m. on reports that Korea Development Bank (KDB) is "open to" acquiring Lehman, according to Bloomberg News. Can you say short-covering?

Bloomberg reports that KDB said, "We are studying a number of options and are open to all possibilities, which could include (buying) Lehman." But this statement requires some context. Bloomberg reports that The Financial Times wrote yesterday that "Lehman failed to sell a 50 percent stake to [KDB] and China's Citic Securities Co. The buyers walked away after deciding Lehman demanded too high a price."

Meanwhile, this announcement must be scaring those who bet that Lehman would not be able to pay its bondholders. "Credit-default swaps protecting against a default on Lehman's bonds dropped 74 basis points today to 315," according to Bloomberg. Who knows where this latest chapter in the Lehman saga will lead?

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.