Wall Street Roundup: Barclays goes American. Analyzing Lehman’s demise

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European bank fears. Wall Street Journal analysis showed that European banks may be holding more risky assets than thought, creating concern among investors.

Barclays goes American. British bank Barclays names Robert Diamond, the American head of its securities unit, as its new chief executive, generating discussion about the continuing preeminence of Wall Street bankers even after a financial crash during which they were at the helm.

Big banker gathering. Top executives from some of the biggest banks in the world will meet this week in Germany to lobby against tighter capital requirements and to advertise their new fitness after the global economic crisis.

Analyzing Lehman’s fall. Andrew Ross Sorkin looks at the two competing narratives about Lehman Bros.’ demise in light of some newly-released e-mails from the heated days around the bank’s collapse.

Whistle-blowers come forward. The Securities and Exchange Commission has been hit with a flood of tips since the financial reform bill promised rewards for information that helps root out financial fraud.

Betting on the farm. Michael Burry, the quirky investor whose successful bet against the housing market was chronicled in “The Big Short,” is now putting his money behind farmland and gold.

-- Nathaniel Popper