A victim of its poor bets on sub-prime mortgages and its own bad management Bear Stearns died a quiet death when JP Morgan acquired it for a fraction of its pre-subprime debacle value. Herewith the sad tale of the tape.http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorTue, 07 Oct 2008 7:03:14 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/38516/execs-were-paid-3b-to-lay-credit-crisis-foundation.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMore than $3 billion was paid to the chief executives of the five biggest financial firms on Wall Street in the run-up to the credit crisis, Bloomberg reports. While supervising bad mortgage-related credit bets that eventually brought the financial system to its knees, Merrill Lynch’s Stanley O’Neal took in $172 million in 2003-07, while Bear Stearns’ James Cayne took in $161 million.http://www.newser.com/story/38516/execs-were-paid-3b-to-lay-credit-crisis-foundation.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 26 Sep 2008 16:54:24 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/37184/lehman-doomed-by-market-schadenfreude-bear-bailout.html?refid=rss_all_defaultAll it took was a single anonymously sourced report Tuesday to send Lehman Brothers down about 50% in 15 minutes. This proves two things, writes Michael Lewis: The market is jittery, and “Lehman Brothers is doomed.” The big bank’s fate is sealed in part “because it still owns all sorts of crappy assets at inflated prices,” but also because people are enjoying watching its downfall.http://www.newser.com/story/37184/lehman-doomed-by-market-schadenfreude-bear-bailout.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 11 Sep 2008 8:50:14 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32820/demonizing-shorters-wont-save-the-likes-of-lehman.html?refid=rss_all_defaultShort-sellers have the power to utterly crush Lehman Brothers, as they did Bear Stearns, writes James Cramer in New York , but it's largely Lehman's own fault. Lehman shares much of the "mismanagement, arrogance and recklessness" that brought down Bear, Cramer opines in a piece that says excoriating short-selling hedge funds for running down Lehman stock, and accusing them of manipulation, misses the point.http://www.newser.com/story/32820/demonizing-shorters-wont-save-the-likes-of-lehman.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 18 Jul 2008 23:50:45 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31683/baffled-execs-say-rumor-killed-stearns.html?refid=rss_all_defaultBear Stearns' collapse and shotgun marriage to JP Morgan were sparked by little more than a rumor, Vanity Fair reports. True, the investment bank had stumbled—a $1.6 billion bailout of troubled funds hurt its image—but whispers of liquidity problems were false: Bear had $18 billion in cash reserves. Now former executives and the SEC want to know who killed the company.http://www.newser.com/story/31683/baffled-execs-say-rumor-killed-stearns.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 04 Jul 2008 20:45:22 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31108/fed-feared-contagion-if-bear-failed.html?refid=rss_all_defaultIf the Fed hadn't taken the unprecedented step of helping bail out Bear Stearns, a sweeping "contagion" would have doomed the markets, its members say. In newly released minutes from its March 16 meeting, the Fed reasons that the “prominent position of Bear Stearns” left it no choice but to help JP Morgan's purchase, the Wall Street Journal reports. The minutes also reveal that JP Morgan was not the sole suitor—only the “most suitable,” and that fewer than five board members were in on the decision.http://www.newser.com/story/31108/fed-feared-contagion-if-bear-failed.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 27 Jun 2008 11:46:21 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/30417/email-may-toast-arrested-bear-fund-managers.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA pair of former Bear Stearns hedge-fund managers arrested today on federal fraud charges could be done in by an email in which one described their market position as "toast"—days before telling investors it was "quite comfortable." Matthew Tannin and Ralph Cioffi will be indicted later today in a collapse that cost investors $1.6 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports.http://www.newser.com/story/30417/email-may-toast-arrested-bear-fund-managers.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 19 Jun 2008 9:56:07 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/28730/shareholders-rubber-stamp-bear-selloff.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe buyout of Bear Stearns neared finality today with 84% of shareholders voting in favor of acquisition by JPMorgan Chase, the Wall Street Journal reports. Chairman James Cayne shared his feelings publicly with shareholders about the bank’s demise for the first time: "I personally apologize,” he stated, "I'm sorry. Words can't describe the feelings that I feel."http://www.newser.com/story/28730/shareholders-rubber-stamp-bear-selloff.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 29 May 2008 11:45:34 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/25969/bear-bailout-called-worst-mistake-in-a-generation.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA former top-ranking Fed official has called the central bank's decision to bail out Bear Stearns its "worst mistake in a generation," the Wall Street Journal reports. The official, former chief of monetary policy, compares the hasty move to errors that helped trigger the Great Depression. He accused officials of ignoring other options, such as demanding more from buyer JP Morgan, seeking other suitors or removing certain assets from Bear's portfolio.http://www.newser.com/story/25969/bear-bailout-called-worst-mistake-in-a-generation.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 29 Apr 2008 0:39:19 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/24995/new-hires-at-bear-stearns-axed-before-they-start.html?refid=rss_all_defaultHundreds of college grads who thought they had landed dream positions with Bear Stearns were canned before their first day on the job, the Wall Street Journal reports. As the giant bank began to implode, the students were at first assured their new jobs were safe—but then were sent packing to hunt for work along with 38,000 others recently let go by the financial industry.http://www.newser.com/story/24995/new-hires-at-bear-stearns-axed-before-they-start.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSat, 19 Apr 2008 1:05:42 CDT