Banks See Light at the End...or a Train

First, Goldman Sachs said it. Now Lehman Brothers is saying it.

"The worst of the impact of the financial markets is behind us," said Richard Fuld, chief executive of Lehman Brothers, at the company's annual shareholders meeting today.

Last week, Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein told his company's annual meeting that we are "closer to the end than the beginning" of the credit crises. He said markets are more than halfway to recovery, and the credit crunch is "at the end of the third quarter, beginning of the fourth quarter."

Blankfein also said there's light at the end of the tunnel -- but some are wary that the light could be an oncoming train.

Fuld says that "the current environment will remain challenging." He also says his biggest disappointments last year and and now are the reactions to the company's stock price.

Lehman, you will recall, blasted the shorts for swarming its stock and said it was cooperating with the Securities and Exchange Commission in an investigation into short activity. Lehman is nearly 100 percent above its 52-week low of $20.25 -- but it's also just less than half its 52-week high of $82.50. (note: fixes difference in price from high)

We checked in with Locatestock.com, which periodically updates us on what stocks the shorts are requesting the most. John Tabacco, CEO of Locatestock, says Lehman's been in the top five for the past 20 days and that financials remain top of the list.

Stocks that haven't shown up in the top five but that are getting attention include Merrill Lynch and UBS , says Tabacco.

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