Money-market fund assets up $1.5 bln Monday-Crane

BOSTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. money-market fund assets increased by $1.5 billion on Monday, the first daily increase since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK) filed for bankruptcy a week ago, as government steps to support the industry reduced panic among clients, research firm Crane Data LLC said.

Assets of money-market funds, traditionally considered ultra-safe investment vehicles, fell $188.6 billion, or 6.1 percent, last week as the turmoil in financial markets led to investors fleeing the funds.

"The panic and the outflows have been halted," Peter Crane, president and publisher of Westboro, Massachusetts-based Crane Data, told Reuters on Tuesday. (Reporting by Muralikumar Anantharaman, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)