Business Notes WALL STREET

Like the antagonist of a Hollywood horror flick, Drexel Burnham Lambert is hard to kill. Wall Street's most dreaded investment house, which seemed all but dead and buried when its parent company declared bankruptcy last February, is showing signs of life again. When the company's brokerage unit filed separately for Chapter 11 protection last week, Drexel officials said they hope to reorganize the company as a more specialized firm. "It will be much smaller, and it won't look at all like the old Drexel," says spokesman Steven Anreder.

To help put a fresh face on the firm, Chief Executive Frederick Joseph, 53, will be replaced by John Sorte, 42, previously co-head of the corporate- finance department. While Joseph will remain president of the parent company, Sorte will handle the job of trying to put the firm back in business. The road will be rough. Drexel is likely to encounter skepticism in the financial markets and will also face obstacles in bankruptcy court. Creditors may challenge the $206 million in cash bonuses that the firm paid to employees just before the company's collapse.