Lehman to raise up to $4 billion in fresh capital

Lehman Brothers will seek up to $4 billion in fresh capital to stave off liquidity issues caused by souring bets in mortgage backed securities.  The Wall Street investment bank has been on watch since the demise of Bear Stearns as the company had been one of the more aggressive firms in Alt-A and subprime mortgages. From Bloomberg on Lehman's round of capital raising: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. may raise $3 billion to $4 billion of extra capital to strengthen its balance sheet, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. . The fresh capital will probably be raised by selling common shares, thus diluting the holdings of current shareholders, the newspaper said. The amount being mooted indicates that the securities firm's second-quarter loss might be lar