CEO James Cayne

( NewsVisual , powered by IntellectSpace ) -- Bear Stearns Cos (NYSE: BSC) is on the verge of collapse, and the Federal Reserve's report on the matter could mean more bad news for taxpayers. Last Thursday the Federal Reserve estimated Bear Stearns' value after accepting JP Morgan's (NYSE: JPM) $28.9 billion loan used to buy the troubled firm as collateral. However, thanks to falling markets that collateral is now worth only $28.8 billion, meaning that the $1.15 billion that JP Morgan... Read Full Story

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace ) -- Bear Stearns Cos (NYSE: BSC) is facing a major meltdown, and amid the crisis, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox finding himself a target for scrutiny. Critics are saying that the SEC head has exhibited less than stellar leadership performance in the midst of the investment bank's downward spiral. The SEC has been scrambling to form a bailout plan for Bear Stearns , though noticeably absent from the meetings and... Read Full Story

As the Bear Stearns witchhunt continues throughout the MSM and reverberates in the blogosphere, I can’t help but ask the question.  Who is the co-conspirator(s) in this transactions of weapons of mass destruction? Just like for a murder to happen there has to be both a body and a weapon, for a transaction to happen there [...] [[more]] Read Full Story

John Paulson made $3.7B in 2007 betting against an over levered financial system. The ability to go left when everyone else is going right is truly the mark of a great investor. I would like to point out some of Paulson's superhuman abilities : 1. Paulson had an almost clairvoyant insight into the machinations of Bear Stearns, who at the time was propping up faltering Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), "..by purchasing individual mortgages that were rapidly losing value to avoid doling out... Read Full Story

" Believe it or not - I've been able to convince people to add more money ." An e-mail sent by former hedge fund manager, Matthew Tannin regarding the shaky conditions of the funds Today, The NY Times features a fascinating article about the Bear Stearns indictment. Two former hedge fund managers at Bear Stearns have been indicted, charged with nine counts of securities, mail and wire fraud. These men are being accused of lying to investors about two hedge funds that were falling in value... Read Full Story

Live! From Brooklyn, NY: Deposition Read by U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell; Further Deposition Read by FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Mark Mershon Read Full Story

Federal criminal and civil charges may be forthcoming as Federal prosecutors and the SEC investigate hedge funds sponsored by Bear Stearns. According to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, Fed officials may bring criminal charges against former hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi, and Matthew Tannin. Cioffi managed two Bear Stearns hedge funds that collapsed under the weight of heavy investments in subprime related assets. Tannin assisted Cioffi in managing the two funds. Cioffi, Tannin... Read Full Story

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- U.S. prosecutors are completing an investigation and are preparing criminal charges against former managers of two Bear Stearns hedge funds that collapsed, The Wall Street Journal reported. The employees, who managed two bond portfolios for the New York investment bank's asset-management unit, could be charged with securities fraud, people familiar with the matter told the paper. The question at hand is whether the managers intentionally misled investors by... Read Full Story

Ralph Cioffi, 52, and Matthew Tannin, 46, were arrested Thursday morning and it looks as though ultra wealthy investors will be looking for payback. McClatchy reports the two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers concealed from investors their personal knowledge of the impending disaster in the sub prime mortgage credit business. The indictment alleges the two deceived investors into believing the hedge funds, which held special mortgage bonds that were backed with now-toxic sub-prime home loans... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Bear Stearns Cos. shareholders voted Thursday to approve the investment house's $2.2 billion buyout by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., according to media reports. The 15-minute meeting was presided over by Chairman James Cayne. "It's a sad day, but we'll get through it, and we may be better off for it," said Alan Schwartz, the chief executive of Bear Stearns , in a brief statement as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Bear Stearns spokeswoman Elizabeth Ventura told... Read Full Story