Investment bank powers Morgan Q3 Nov 15, 2009
Profits were boosted by earnings from investment bank Bear Stearns Cos and Seattle-based th 00004000 rift Washington Mutual Inc, two ailing businesses JPMorgan was able to snap up last year in the depths of the financial crisis. But the results were not uniformly positive. (India Times)
Wonk Watch 11.13.09 Nov 14, 2009
We read the smarties so you don't have to. By Matthew McKnightPosted Friday, November 13, 2009 - 6:18pm. (Slate)
The Job Interview from Hell Nov 14, 2009
Money Trail Lessons from the Bear Stearns acquittals. Judgments Whats holding up the stock market. (Slate)
Nissan's Zero Worship Nov 14, 2009
By Matthew DeBordPosted Friday, November 13, 2009 - 6:16pm. Above, you can see the business end of a the 100-mile-per-charge, all-electric car that Nissan will begin selling next year (the charging ports are located right between the headlights). (Slate)
White-collar trials: Subcrime Nov 14, 2009
Tannin and Cioffi, the Bear Stearns Two ... On November 10th the first and so far only executives to face criminal charges relating to the financial crisis were acquitted of lying to investors about the state of the subprime-stuffed hedge funds they ran at Bear Stearns. (The Economist)
Fed Could Offer `Backstop' to Firms with Enough Collateral, Dudley Says Nov 14, 2009
Dudley said hes confident regulators can create policies to reduce the risk of future liquidity runs like the ones that struck Bear Stearns Cos. and American International Group Inc. The international Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is reviewing ways to require banks to hold more and higher-quality capital, he said. (Bloomberg -- US)
The Bear Stearns Verdict: A Blow to E-Mail Prosecutions Nov 13, 2009
Bear Stearns Trial: Verdict a Blow to E-Mail Prosecution - TIME ... Former Bear Stearns hedge-fund manager Matthew Tannin, center, smiles after being acquitted of fraud charges at U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 10, 2009 Shannon Stapleton / Reuters ... On Nov. 10, a jury found a pair of former Bear Stearns hedge-fund managers not guilty of securities fraud. (Time.com)
Investors’ fervor making gold an ever more precious metal Nov 12, 2009
For example, when gold first reached $1,000 it was March 2008, shortly after the collapse of Bear Stearns. Investors bought it then because they feared for the financial system s stability. (Boston Globe)
Feds may change tactics after Bear Nov 12, 2009
Experts say the government went too far in bringing a criminal case against two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers ... As in the Bear Stearns case, the agency plans to rely heavily on e-mails showing the once high-flying executive fretting privately about the state of the market while presenting a rosi 00001F57 er picture to investors ... Experts say the government went too far in bringing a criminal case against two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers. (New York Post -- Business)
White-Collar Defendants: Sit Down and Shut Up Nov 12, 2009
Lessons from the Bear Stearns acquittals ... If only Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, the two Bear Stearns fund managers of insider trading and other charges, had had the gall to take the stand in their own defenses and to submit to what the Feds must have hoped would be a withering cross-examination ... On the surface, you can see their point: On at least a couple of charges, the evidence that the Bear Stearns managers didn't level with their investors is overwhelming. (Slate)
Setback in Bear Stearns Case May Force Gov't Shift Nov 12, 2009
Setback in Bear Stearns case should force government to change tactics in other meltdown cases ... FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2009 file photo, former Bear Stearns hedge fund manager Matthew Tannin exits ... FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2009 file photo, former Bear Stearns hedge fund manager Matthew Tannin exits Brooklyn federal court in New York. (ABC News -- Wire)
Bear Stearns acquittals may force prosecutors to rethink cases Nov 12, 2009
WASHINGTON - The swift acquittal of two Bear Stearns executives in the government s criminal case tied to the financial meltdown probably will force prosecutors to rethink the evidence they planned to present in a raft of cases that have yet to go to trial, legal experts say ... The Bear Stearns acquittals show how tough it can be to prove bank executives committed fraud by lying to investors ... The Bear Stearns case was the second to go to trial, following the conviction in August of a former... (Boston Globe)
KKR Puts Higher Valuation on Dollar General Than Walmart in IPO Offering Nov 12, 2009
KKR, founded by with his first cousin and their Bear Stearns Cos. colleague in 1976, is listing Dollar General as investors suffer the worst returns on U.S. IPOs since at least 1995. (Bloomberg)
Bear Stearns Managers' Acquittal May Hamper Other U.S. Fraud Prosecutions Nov 11, 2009
Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The acquittal of two Bear Stearns Cos ... The acquittal of the Bear Stearns managers yesterday in Brooklyn, New York, federal court on fraud and conspiracy charges also may damage a related Securities and Exchange Commission suit against the two men ... Cioffi, 53, the portfolio manager for the Bear Stearns funds, and Tannin, 48, their chief operating officer, each faced as many as 20 years in prison. (Bloomberg)
Wall St. 1, US 0 Nov 11, 2009
Uncle Sam suffered a major setback yesterday when a federal jury in Brooklyn acquitted two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers accused of lying to investors to cover up the 2007 meltdown of two funds widely viewed as triggering the financial crisis ... We didn't feel it was proven enough," she said. Meanwhile, after the verdict tears of joy were flowing on the defense side, as family and their lawyers celebrated with Wall Streeters. Tannin's lawyer, Susan Brune, openly wept after reading a... (New York Post -- News)
Fed Faces Biggest Blow to Authority, Independence in Dodd Banking Measure Nov 11, 2009
The Feds response to the financial crisis prompted increased scrutiny of the central bank, especially after it used its emergency powers to bail out Bear Stearns Cos. and. (Bloomberg -- US)
Bear Stearns Juror Says U.S. Case So Weak She Would Invest With Defendants Nov 11, 2009
Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Prosecutors missed the mark so widely in the fraud trial of Bear Stearns Cos ... The funds collapsed in 2007, as did Bear Stearns itself less than a year later ... Bear Stearns was purchased the next year by New York-based The government alleged Cioffi and Tannin continued to seek investors in their funds after they learned they were financially unsound. (Bloomberg -- US)
Bear Stearns Nov 11, 2009
A Year After Financial Collapse, Two Hedge Fund Managers Beat Counts of Fraud, Conspiracy. By ANNE-MARIE DORNINGNov. (ABC News -- Business)
Viagra introduces its latest celebrity backer: the devil Nov 11, 2009
In a huge setback for government prosecutors, a jury in New York City last night acquitted two former hedge-fund managers with Bear Stearns of lying to clients about the safety of their money even when they themselves allegedly saw disaster around the corner because of the imploding sub-prime mortgage market. Wednesday, 11 November 2009. (Yahoo News -- Men's Health)
Newsweek: A hedge fund's greatest trade ever Nov 11, 2009
But in 2008, he was still bearish on housing and pivots to buying credit-default swaps on the institutions that were peddling subprime mortgages, like Bear Stearns. One of the most interesting passages in the book is where he's at this meeting with Bear Stearns ... In early 2008, and John Paulson is a big name at that point, he got invited by Bear Stearns, along with a number of other hedge funds, to come over for a nice lunch. (MSNBC -- Business)
Hedge-fund execs acquitted Nov 11, 2009
2 ex-Bear Stearns hedge-fund managers acquitted. Article:2 ex-Bear Stearns hedge-fund managers acquitted:/n/a/2009/11/10/financial/f122851S14 ... DTL Article:2 ex-Bear Stearns hedge-fund managers acquitted:/n/a/2009/11/10/financial/f122851S14. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Business)
2 Bear Stearns Execs Cleared of Conspiracy Nov 11, 2009
(AP) Two Bear Stearns executives who ran hedge funds that crashed in 2007 amid the subprime mortgage meltdown were acquitted Tuesday of lying to investors about the looming crisis on Wall Street ... 6 billion and nearly caused the demise of Bear Stearns itself. (CBS News)
21-Year-Old Wins World Series of Poker Nov 11, 2009
Begleiter's longtime employer, the investment house Bear Stearns, collapsed in the financial panic last year. He embodies a new breed of recreational player with keen math and risk skills honed at day jobs and attracted by poker's rising stakes. (Time.com)
Bear Stearns ex-managers cleared Nov 11, 2009
Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers charged with fraud have been found not guilty by a New York jury ... In March last year, Bear Stearns became one of the most high-profile victims of the credit crunch, after American banking giant JP Morgan agreed to buy it with the backing of the US Federal Reserve ... FROM OTHER NEWS SITES Jury acquits ex-Bear Stearns hedge fund managers - 1 hr ago Ex-Bear Stearns hedge fund managers acquitted - 6 hrs ago * E-mail strategy fails in Bear hedge fund... (BBC News -- Americas)
Search for a sub-prime villain Nov 11, 2009
But as managers of a hedge fund owned by Bear Stearns, the first of the big US finance houses blown to bits by the sub-prime storm, they were reasonably well placed to be early, formally identified villains of the whole fiasco. If the financial cycle was to repeat itself, bigger bad guys would have followed, but Mr Cioffi and Mr Tannin would be a good start. (BBC News -- Business)
Bear Stearns Hedge Fund Managers Found Not Guilty of Fraud Nov 11, 2009
com - Bear Stearns Hedge Fund Managers Found Not Guilty of Fraud ... Bear Stearns Hedge Fund Managers Found Not Guilty of Fraud ... Bear Stearns Hedge Fund Managers Found Not Guilty of Fraud. (Law.com)
Bear Stearns execs cleared in hedge fund fraud Nov 11, 2009
Two Bear Stearns executives who ran hedge funds that crashed in 2007 amid the subprime mortgage meltdown were acquitted Tuesday of lying to investors about the looming crisis on Wall Street ... 6 billion and nearly caused the demise of Bear Stearns. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Business)
12 people arrested for passport fraud in SoCal Nov 11, 2009
A jury began deliberations Monday at the trial of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers charged with lying to investors. Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges in the first criminal case to hit Wall Street amid the housing market meltdown. (Fresno Bee -- State)
Bear Stearns fund managers not guilty in subprime crisis Nov 11, 2009
Former Bear Stearns hedge fund manager Matthew Tannin was acquitedTuesday of conspiracy, securities and wire fraud. NEW YORK (Reuters) Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were acquitted of fraud charges on Tuesday, a setback to government prosecutors that could make them less aggressive in trying to root out Wall Street wrongdoing ... Bear Stearns collapsed in March 2008, several months after the funds' failure, and was sold to JPMorgan Chase in a government-brokered fire sale. (USA Today -- Money)
Bear Stearns Case Shows E-mail Isn't Everything Nov 11, 2009
Bear Stearns Case Shows E-mail Isnt Everything: Ann Woolner - Bloomberg ... Bear Stearns Case Shows E-mail Isnt Everything: Ann Woolner ... All eyes were on the trial, its Bear Stearns were talking about, the 27-year-old Brooklyn College office coordinator pointed out. (Bloomberg -- Columnists)
Ex-Bear Stearns managers acquitted Nov 11, 2009
NEW YORK - Two Bear Stearns executives who ran hedge funds that collapsed after betting heavily on the shaky subprime mortgage market were acquitted yesterday of lying to investors - a defeat in the government s bid to punish fraud exposed by the financial crisis ... 6 billion and nearly caused the demise of Bear Stearns itself. (Boston Globe)
Tarullo Says Dividing Bank Operations May Not Cut Risk to Financial System Nov 10, 2009
As shown by Bear Stearns and Lehman, firms without commercial banking operations can now also pose a too-big-to- fail threat, he said ... The draft bill would also curb the emergency powers the Fed used during the crisis to bail out American International Group Inc. and finance $29 billion in troubled Bear Stearns assets to facilitate the brokers merger with. (Bloomberg -- US)
Trial of Ex-Bear Stearns Execs Goes to Jury Nov 10, 2009
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pay and venue were the focus of a jury's early deliberations on Monday in the trial of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers accused of fraud over dealings in mortgage-backed securities early in the financial crisis ... U.S. prosecutors called a score of witnesses and cited hundreds of documentary exhibits for their case, in which they accused the former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers of lying to investors over the health of their funds in 2007 at an early point in... (ABC News -- Wire)
Jessica book sales fall short Nov 10, 2009
The trial of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers went to a jury on Monday, the first high-profile Wall Street execs criminally charged with fraud over subprime mortgage-backed securities that fueled the market meltdown. Photo Galleries. (Yahoo News -- Jessica Lynch)
Record Bonuses Return to Wall Street as Big Three May Award $29.7 Billion Nov 10, 2009
While some investment houses have reported stronger than expected profits, other major firms, such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, have disappeared altogether during the recent financial crisis. . (Bloomberg)
Ivey, Begleiter bust from World Series of Poker Nov 8, 2009
Begleiter, a 47-year-old former Bear Stearns Cos. executive, won $1. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
Bear's last supper Nov 8, 2009
On February 20, 2008, [John] Paulson received an invitation from Samuel Molinaro, Jr., the chief operating officer at Bear Stearns, inviting him to a lunch at the investment bank's executive dining room. A rash of hedge-fund clients had pulled money out of Bear Stearns, and Molinaro was worried about the firm's health ... If Molinaro could bring the hedge funds back into the fold it would be a shot in the arm for Bear Stearns and could help right his tottering ship. (New York Post -- Business)
"The September Issue" Nov 8, 2009
Documentaries - Salon. Follow Entertainment. (Salon)
A glance at the final table of the WSOP Nov 8, 2009
OCCUPATION: private equity, former Bear Stearns Cos. executive. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Sports)
Dimon's Dad Quits Merrill to Work for Son's Brokerage, Brings Along Team Nov 8, 2009
JPMorgans Dimon Hires His Father for Bear Stearns Brokerage - Bloomberg ... JPMorgans Dimon Hires His Father for Bear Stearns Brokerage ... The elder Dimon and his five-member broker team will join Bear Stearns Private Client Services, a unit acquired by his son in the March 2008 takeover of the failed investment bank. (Bloomberg)
Stiglitz: We Should Have Nationalized Banks Nov 7, 2009
No more Fed (money) to AIG. No more Fed to Bear Stearns, says Rep. Barney Frank, according to an Associated Press report. (Newsmax)
Galleon Scandal Scorecard: Hedge Funds, Traders, Lawyers and `Octopussy' Nov 7, 2009
Chiesi, 43, was a consultant at New Castle Funds LLC, a former Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund. (Bloomberg -- US)
Dimon dad takes job at JPMorgan Nov 7, 2009
The elder Dimon and his five-member broker team will join Bear Stearns Private Client Services, a unit acquired by his son in the March 2008 takeover of the failed investment bank ... The elder Dimon and his five-member broker team will join Bear Stearns Private Client Services, a unit acquired by his son in the March 2008 takeover of the failed investment bank. (New York Post -- News)
How Does Facebook Know I'm Gay? Nov 7, 2009
e-mails to prosecutors looking to convict a Bear Stearns trader of malfeasanceeven though the trader had shut down his Google account. I know that if I click "Delete," I'll never see my e-mail again. (Slate)
Bear Managers Cioffi, Tannin Defrauded Investors, Prosecutor Tells Jurors Nov 6, 2009
Bear Stearnss Cioffi, Tannin Defrauded Investors, U.S. Says - Bloomberg ... Bear Stearnss Cioffi, Tannin Defrauded Investors, U.S. Says ... Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Bear Stearns Cos. (Bloomberg -- US)
Sparring Over Evidence at Wall Streeters Trial Nov 6, 2009
U.S. prosecutor Ilene Jaroslaw said on Thursday former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin lied to investors in the early months of 2007 about the health of their funds even though they were seeing some of the worst market conditions ever. "This case is not about hedge fund strategy or what happened in the market in 2007," Jaroslaw told a Brooklyn, New York, federal court jury. (ABC News -- Business)
The missing pieces in Galleon’s puzzle Nov 6, 2009
Prosecutors and securities regulators appear to have already put together the big pieces with last month s arrests of former Galleon co-founder Raj Rajaratnam and two executives from a former Bear Stearns hedge fund. Another round of criminal charges may show just how far the outer boundaries of the Galleon puzzle extend. (The Star Online, Malaysia -- Business)
J.P. Morgan settles Alabama bond case Nov 6, 2009
The SEC charges are a blot on J.P. Morgan, which has had a cleaner record than other financial companies because it avoided many dangerous bets and swooped in to buy two banks, Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, as they were collapsing. Earlier this year, the SEC filed civil charges against Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, a former president of the Jefferson County Commission, for accepting payments in connection with the matter. (Honolulu Advertiser)
The catastrophe insurance policy through history Nov 5, 2009
Now we have had Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. History never repeats itself but as Mark Twain said, it often rhymes. (Business Report, South Africa)
Rajaratnam Prosecutors Claim Multiple Witnesses to Galleon Insider Trading Nov 5, 2009
The SEC alleges that there was widespread and repeated insider trading at hedge funds run by Galleon and New Castle Funds LLC, a former Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund. (Bloomberg -- US)
Business briefs Nov 5, 2009
Bear chargeFormer Bear Stearns hedge-fund manager Matthew Tannin won dismissal of one wire fraud charge alleging he told a lender during a phone call in May 2007 that he anticipated no large redemptions ... Former Bear Stearns hedge-fund manager Matthew Tannin won dismissal of one wire fraud charge alleging he told a lender during a phone call in May 2007 that he anticipated no large redemptions. (New York Post -- Business)
Why did blue-chip Goldman take a walk on subprime's wild side? Nov 5, 2009
22-caliber rifle and not hit a subprime lender in Orange County," recalled a former manager of a company that reviewed subprime loan files before Goldman and other Wall Street firms bought the mortgages.For $100 million in mortgages, New Century could command fees from Wall Street of $4 million to $11 million, ex-employees told McClatchy. The goal was to close loans fast, bundle them into pools and sell them to generate money for the next round.Inside the mortgage company, the former employees... (Anchorage Daily News)
House bill to target big firms, Fed loans Nov 4, 2009
"No more Fed [money] to AIG. No more Fed to Bear Stearns." -- Barney Frank, Chairman House Financial Services Committee ... No more Fed [money] to AIG. No more Fed to Bear Stearns, said Representative Barney Frank, referring to two major recipients of the Fed s emergency lending program. (Boston Globe)
Setting banks up to fail Nov 4, 2009
Still, even as the government stood them back up, JPMorganChase acquired Bear Stearns, Bank of America got Merrill Lynch and Countrywide, and Wells Fargo absorbed Wachovia. Those banks were too big to fail last fall and are bigger this fall. (Albany Times Union)
Standard Chartered 79% Return Overtakes HSBC With Asian Investment Rebound Nov 4, 2009
Wallace, 47, hired as head of corporate finance in March 2008, had been chief of global capital markets for Asia Pacific at , 40, was taken on in May 2007 after working in Asia and New York for Bear Stearns Cos. for 11 years. (Bloomberg)
Defense rests in Bear case Nov 4, 2009
Two former Bear Stearns hedge funders being tried for criminal fraud rested their case unexpectedly yesterday ... Two former Bear Stearns hedge funders being tried for criminal fraud rested their case unexpectedly yesterday. (New York Post -- Business)
Financial reformnext for Obama Nov 4, 2009
If you're something other than a bank, the way AIG was being an insurance company or Bear Stearns an investment bank, you need not apply ... The Federal Reserve's ability to extend credit to failing non-bank firms under section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act [the long-used Great Depression era provision the Fed staff had to dig out of the cellar in order to find the authority to rescue Bear Stearns] should be eliminated. (Asia Times Online)
From Greg Gordon at McClatchy Nov 3, 2009
"For the past year, Goldman has been on the defensive over its Washington connections and the billions in federal bailout funds it received. Scant attention has been paid, however, to how it became the only major Wall Street player to extricate itself from the subprime securities market before the housing bubble burst.Goldman remains, along with Morgan Stanley, one of two venerable Wall Street investment banks still standing. Their grievously wounded peers Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch fell... (Harper's Magazine)
Citigroup Names Geoffrey Dennis Global Emerging-Markets Equity Strategist Nov 3, 2009
He is a former telecommunications analyst for Bear Stearns Cos. and director of research for Latin America at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.. (Bloomberg -- Latin America)
Bear lawyers ask for hedge case dismissal Nov 3, 2009
The lawyers for two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers accused of criminal fraud have asked the judge to throw out the case ... The lawyers for two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers accused of criminal fraud have asked the judge to throw out the case. (New York Post -- News)
Ruiz resigned in September Nov 3, 2009
Ruiz's resignation is not surprising considering a recent Wall Street Journal story identifying him as an unnamed tipster in government telephone recordings used to implicate a Bear Stearns hedge fund trader in the scandal ... Ruiz was allegedly recorded giving confidential information about the spinoff to Danielle Chiesi, the Bear Stearns trader. (Albany Times Union)
Will a Wall Streeter Win Big at the World Series of Poker? Nov 3, 2009
Former Bear Stearns banker Steven Begleiter plays in a World Series of Poker preliminary round in Las Vegas Laura Rauch / AP ... But he might become the first to claim the game's biggest prize and in an odd way he owes it all to his former employer, the collapsed investment house Bear Stearns ... Now along comes Begleiter, an investment banker who has grabbed a coveted place in the "November Nine." He wouldn't be there if not for the implosion of his longtime employer Bear Stearns, where he... (Time.com)
No one has sure fix for 'too big to fail' dilemma Nov 3, 2009
Despite government disavowals, the perception that the feds would bail out the likes of Bear Stearns or Fannie Mae permitted such firms to pile on risk without corresponding discipline from the market, thus hastening the ultimate collapse. And, once the downward spiral began, the Federal Reserve and Treasury, armed with uncertain legal authority, faced a series of ad hoc choices as to which institutions to bail out and how. (Juneau Empire)
Secret Atlanta Bond Deal Led IRS to Middleman Rubin Financing in the Dark Nov 2, 2009
3 million investment included an option for the city to return securities to the provider, Bear Stearns Cos ... JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired Bear Stearns last year ... Bear Stearns and Chambers were pursued by the city for contribution to the settlement but declined to respond, Johnson, the city attorney, said in a written statement. (Bloomberg)
Winners Take All Nov 1, 2009
Former Bear Stearns honcho Steve Begleiter -- who helped engineer JPMorgan's takeover of his Wall Street investment firm last summer -- was devastated after. Hondo Sweeps. (Yahoo News -- Survivor)
