Inside sources reveal that soon after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection on 15th September, Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc. had approached Citigroup Inc. to discuss a possible merger of the two firms.  

However, the brief call made by Lloyd Blankfein (CEO - Goldman) to his Cititcorp counterpart - Vikram Pandit did not result in any serious discussion, with Pandit immediately rejecting the proposal.

The critical situation of the financial market has started taking its toll on a lot of companies. The financial services company Bajaj Finserv has shown losses during the period July to September.

The Managing director of the company confirmed the slowdown and pressure on margin in his statement: "Yes, we are seeing a slowdown in the sector. Industry growth has slowed down".

Indiabulls Financial Services has registered a consolidated net profit of Rs135.7 crore for the second quarter ended September, a 21.4% growth over the corresponding period year ago.