Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers rode similar paths of decline but had vastly different endgames.

Some investors are afraid that fund managers will take advantage of a climate of fear to target weak financial firms.

For eight months, David Einhorn, a hedge fund manager, has pilloried the venerable Lehman Brothers in an effort to drive down the bank’s stock price, which he is betting against.

For eight months, David Einhorn, a hedge fund manager, has pilloried the venerable Lehman Brothers in an effort to drive down the bank’s stock price, which he is betting against.

For eight months, David Einhorn, a hedge fund manager, has pilloried the venerable Lehman Brothers in an effort to drive down the bank’s stock price, which he is betting against.

How did all of the mechanisms operated by the mind-bogglingly well-paid men and women of the Street go so wrong?