Here's what we have backed up in the readers.
A tip o'Climateer's cap to MarketBeat for this one on March 10:
Bearish Bets on Bear Stearns
...Options activity is heavily tilted toward bearish bets, with aggressive players buying put options on March options contracts at the $50 and $40 strike prices – which would be an enormous move in the shares, currently trading at about $62.50 a share. Officials at Bear Stearns were unavailable for comment....March 11:Financials Exhale — Except Bear Stearns
March 12: Four at Four: Why Not Bet on Catastrophe?
March 13: Bears All Over Bear
March 14: Yes, Bear Stearns Is Having Liquidity Issues
Ditto........: Yes, Bear Stearns Is Having Liquidity Issues
Ditto........: The Bear Stearns Conference Call
Ditto........: Bear Fortunes Up in Smoke
Ditto........: Four at Four: Gone Baby Gone
It really shows the power of the medium in the hands of a pro. Gaffen's pretty good.
Two from Infectious Greed:
Bears Stearns Quote du Jour
My current favorite Bear Stearns quote du jour come from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson today. The preternaturally placid Paulson had this to say about the Bear Stearns bailout:
"As we have been saying for some time, there are challenges in our financial markets...."And:
More Fun with Bear Stearns Anagrams
Okay, the FT has me wasting time coming up with more fun anagrams for Bears Stearns:From Brad DeLong:
Bare Ass Rent
Barer Sanest
Bears Astern
Barest Snare
Stabs Nearer
Baser Rates
Baste Rears
The Fall of Bear Stearns
There I was, yesterday, opining to Barry Eichengreen that Ben "Credit Channel" Bernanke was not going to let Bear Stearns collapse, was going to rescue it--and that as a result BS was a buy Thursday afternoon.Never have I felt so right--and so wrong--as I do this morning.
From Portfolio.com:
The Bear Facts
What happened to Bear Stearns?
It ran out of money.
That can't be good if you're a bank.
No.
From DealBook:
Who Could Buy Bear Stearns?
...Many on Wall Street were speculating Friday that a sale to a cash-rich buyer was one of the few ways that Bear could quiet fears about its viability, which appear to have snowballed into a run on the bank, or something close to it. Bear itself said Friday that in addition to seeking permanent capital, it was working with Lazard to consider other “alternatives” — which is often a code word for a potential sale. But in these troubled financial times, who would buy it?The most obvious candidate is J.P. Morgan Chase, the company that has stepped in as a go-between for Friday’s short-term loan from the Fed. Under James Dimon, J.P. Morgan has weathered the recent mortgage crisis far better than many other global banks. It has even hinted that it could be looking to acquire a regional bank in the United States....
Finally, from the North American Bridge Championships:
Spring NABCDetroit
3/5-16/2008
| Imp Pairs 65.0 Tables / Based on 123 Tables | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Names | Score | ||||
| 1 | Robert Cappelli, Bloomfield MI; Robert Bitterman, Charlotte NC | 27.56 | |||
| 2 | Peter Boyd, Darnestown MD; Steve Robinson, Arlington VA | 26.26 | |||
| 3 | Sylwia McNamara - Michael McNamara, White Plains NY | 22.66 | |||
| 4 | James Cayne, New York NY; Alfredo Versace, Rome Italy | 21.94 | |||
- HT: The anonymous guest @ Dealbreaker
