Guide Note

Prior to the news of the sale of Bear Stearns to JP Morgan Chase, on March 16, 2008, Bear Stearns held a conference call at 12:30 EDT on March 14. The purpose of the call was to deflect (in the words of CFO Sam Molinaro) "rumors that were not true" that Bear Stearns was facing insolvency. When news broke of the company's purchase by JP Morgan Chase, and of the agreed price of $2/share, it was clear that it was Bear Stearns that had been telling something other than the truth. The investment bank, heavily mired in subprime and other 'innovative' mortgage instruments, had run out of options in the latter half of the second week of March 2008, falling nearly 50% in a half hour of trading at one point. The company has announced that it will release its earnings report for the first quarter of 2008 on March 17. For more information on the company and its decline, see the pages on Bear Stearns and the Bear Stearns stock decline.

Quotes

"Today, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced that, in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, it has agreed to provide secured funding to Bear Stearns, as necessary, for an initial period of up to 28 days. Through its Discount Window, the Fed will provide non-recourse, back-to-back financing to JPMorgan Chase." --JP Morgan Chase