Business news

Fed chief says biggest banks could be closed

WASHINGTON --- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a panel investigating the financial crisis that regulators must be ready to shutter the largest institutions if they threaten to bring down the financial system.

"If the crisis has a single lesson, it is that the too-big-to-fail problem must be solved," Bernanke said Thursday while testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

Bernanke also said it was impossible for the Fed to rescue Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy in 2008 because the Wall Street firm lacked sufficient collateral to secure a loan.

Lehman's former chief executive told the panel a day earlier that the firm could have been saved, but regulators refused to provide help.

Burger King sells to firm for $3.26 billion

CHICAGO --- Burger King's new ruler could help its empire expand.

Burger King Holdings Inc. sealed a deal Thursday to sell itself for $3.26 billion to 3G Capital, an investment firm with strong ties to Latin America. The fast-food chain's chairman and CEO, John Chidsey, said the deal will help it expand more rapidly overseas.

Chidsey, who will become co-chairman of the company after the tender offer is complete, said the $24-per-share deal also brings 3G Capital's experience and contacts abroad. More than a third of Burger King's locations are outside the U.S.