Lehman stock jumps after report says may go private

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc LEH.N shrugged off a decline in U.S. financial stocks on Tuesday and surged more than 13 percent after a report that the investment bank was considering going private.

Lehman Brothers shares, which have fallen nearly 80 percent so far this year, were up $1.62 at $14.02 during morning New York Stock Exchange trade.

Lehman was one of two stocks in the Amex Securities Broker-Dealer Index .XBD to show a gain after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said a weakening housing market, tighter credit and rising oil prices threatened the economy.

The New York Post reported on Tuesday that Lehman Brothers Chief Executive Richard Fuld was considering ways to take the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank private.

Details of how such a move may work were not clear, but the paper cited unnamed sources as saying talks on buying out Lehman had gotten serious.

"It at least lets people know that they're thinking of possibilities, and they're not allowing themselves to be complete victims," said Ralph Cole, portfolio manager at Ferguson Wellman Capital Management in Portland, Oregon.

Randy Whitestone, a spokesman for Lehman, declined to comment.

(Reporting by Paritosh Bansal and Dan Wilchins; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)