CEO James Cayne

AP – Two Bear Stearns executives who ran hedge funds that collapsed after betting heavily on the shaky subprime mortgage market were acquitted Tuesday of lying to investors — a defeat in the government’s bid to punish fraud exposed by the financial crisis. A jury in federal court in Brooklyn deliberated about eight hours over two days before finding Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin not guilty of conspiracy and other charges in an alleged scheme that cost 300 investors about $1.6 billion and... Read Full Story

AP – Two Bear Stearns executives who ran hedge funds that collapsed after betting heavily on the shaky subprime mortgage market were acquitted Tuesday of lying to investors — a defeat in the government’s bid to punish fraud exposed by the financial crisis. A jury in federal court in Brooklyn deliberated about eight hours over two days before finding Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin not guilty of conspiracy and other charges in an alleged scheme that cost 300 investors about $1.6 billion and... Read Full Story

According to a late Monday story from Kate Kelley of The Wall Street Journal , James Cayne, the chairman and chief executive of Bear Stearns Cos., under fire from shareholders after the Wall Street firm was badly burned by the downturn in the mortgage market, is stepping down as CEO, say people familiar with the matter. Nothing all that surprising when one considers Cayne's reputation as a hands-off executive who even during the height of the sub-prime crisis remained aloof while Bear... Read Full Story

Altria Group Inc. said Wednesday that cost-cutting and improved results from its cigar unit led its third-quarter profit to rise 2 percent, even though it sold fewer cigarettes. The Richmond-based seller of Marlboro cigarettes, Black & Mild cigars and Copenhagen and Skoal smokeless tobacco products earned $882 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with $867 million, or 42 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding costs related to its UST LLC acquisition and other items, profit was 48 cents... Read Full Story

CNNMoney.com Another Bear hedge fund hit by mortgage turmoil MarketWatch - 11 hours ago By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Another Bear Stearns hedge fund has been hit by turmoil in the mortgage market. … Bear Stearns Halts Redemptions on Third Hedge Fund (Update1) Bloomberg Bear Stearns halts redemptions in third hedge fund Reuters Are hedge fund collapse fears overblown? Sydney Morning Herald CNNMoney.com  - Wall Street Journal all 40 news articles More... Read Full Story

This is kind of getting old, why don't they just get rid of their subprime business all at once and stop the bleeding. I've got my eyes on you, Bear Stearns . Bear cuts 310 jobs as it scales back mortgage business Move follows similar job losses at Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers SAN FRANCISCO ( MarketWatch ) -- Bear Stearns Cos. said on Wednesday that it's cutting 310 jobs as the investment bank scales back its residential mortgage lending business amid rising delinquencies and slumping... Read Full Story

Random Feed wrote an interesting post today on Here’s a quick excerpt Apple profit up 15 pct, helped by iPhones, laptops SEATTLE ? Apple Inc., the closest thing the tech industry has to a luxury brand, said Tuesday its profit jumped 15 percent in the most recent quarter despite the recession. IPhone revenue surged and reduced prices pushed laptop sales higher, even as the rest of the PC [...] Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and... Read Full Story

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Warren Spector , forced out as president of Bear Stearns Cos. last August, may have outdone his former mentor James ``Jimmy'' Cayne as the 85-year-old brokerage firm imploded. After a spat over politics in 2004, Cayne, then Bear Stearns's chief executive officer, changed the company's deferred compensation plan, prompting Spector to sell $382 million of stock. As of last March, his stake in the New York-based firm had dwindled to 0.06 percent, worth about $8 million... Read Full Story

I went in early again today. I need to keep the machine off till 9:45. That being said we'll make sure I don't make that mistake again in the morning. Trades so far today. 1. BSC Short $11.21 Covered at $11.03 at 9:37 . Profitable trade 2. Short ARRY $7.45 on my Bollinger band(20) set up. Profit target $7.16 Cover $7.81. UPDATE 11:08 EST. Profit target hit $7.17 (bid$7.16/ask$7.17) SEE CHART ABOVE. Profitable Trade 3. BSC Short $10.99 on channel breakout. Profit target $9.81 Cover $11.56... Read Full Story

I did my scans last night and came up with a few shorts to look at. Here are today's trades. 1. HALO Short $6.74 / profit target $6.28 /cover $6.98 (.06 above R1) 2. PIR Short $6.38 I waited for a tick below the P pivot point / profit target 50% $6.12 (S1) - 50% $5.84 (200MA) / cover $6.80 (.06 above a resistance line from prior day. UPDATE PIR 11:22 EST profit target hit $6.12 / cover moved lower $6.17 on 2nd 50% of trade. 2nd UPDATE 11:33 EST stopped out last of shares at $6.17 .See chart... Read Full Story