JPMorgan Agrees To Buy Bear Stearns

Despite Deal, Asian Markets Falter In Response To U.S. Financial Insecurities

(CBS/AP)  JPMorgan Chase said Sunday it will acquire rival Bear Stearns in a deal valued at $236.2 million, a stunning collapse for one of the world's largest and most venerable investment banks.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said the $2 a share, all-stock deal has received the required approvals from the federal government and the Federal Reserve. Bear Stearns shares close Friday at $30 a share.

The Fed will provide special financing to JPMorgan Chase for the deal, JPMorgan Chase said. The central bank has agreed to fund up to $30 billion of Bear Stearns' less liquid assets.

The two sides reportedly wanted to lock up a deal before investors could put pressure on both of their stocks once Asian markets were open for business.

At almost the same time as the deal for control of Bear Stearns was announced, the Federal Reserve said it approved a cut in its lending rate to banks to 3.25 percent from 3.50 percent and created another lending facility for big investment banks. The central bank's official meeting is on Tuesday. Before the emergency move to lower the discount rate, which is the rate at which banks lend each other money, the Fed was widely expected to again cut its headline rate by as much as a full point to 2 percent.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the central bank's latest actions "will provide financial institutions with greater assurance of access to funds."

The announcement from both the Fed and JPMorgan comes ahead of what some analysts expected to be a brutal day for global stocks. Asian stocks fell sharply after renewed worries about the U.S. financial system sent stocks tumbling on Wall Street.

In Tokyo, Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index plunged early Monday more than 3 percent. In Seoul, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell more than 2.5 percent. Hong Kong's benchmark index tumbled over 4 percent in early trading and markets in Australia and New Zealand also fell.

A collapse of Bear Stearns could have created a further crisis of confidence in world financial markets amid a deepening credit crunch. JPMorgan's acquisition of Bear Stearns represents roughly 1 percent of what the investment bank was worth just 16 days ago.

The deal represented a 93.3 percent discount to Bear Stearns' market capitalization as of Friday, and roughly a 98.8 percent discount to its book value as of Feb. 29.

"The past week has been an incredibly difficult time for Bear Stearns," said Bear Stearns Chief Executive Alan Schwartz in a statement. "This represents the best outcome for all of our constituencies based upon the current circumstances."

[timdgrim]

Hey, if the China company Citic Securities buys into Bear Stearns...will they change the name to PANDA Bear Stearns????

[hypnotoad72]

Will this buyout mean the Fed doesn''t need to bail Bear Sterns out?

[timdgrim]

curse914:

Round Eyed Slave, is not that the name of a ChinaMart..I mean WalMart employee?

[mcv57]

Will this buyout mean the Fed doesn''''t need to bail Bear Sterns out?

Posted by hypnotoad72

LoL, no. This means the Feds are playing a Cat-in-Hat game.

The Federal Reserve is behind the purchase. JP Morgan is just the middle man. You see, JP Morgan is given instruction, by the Feds, to buy-out the crumbling world bank with Reserve funds; in turn, JP Morgan takes the collateral and hands over the lien to the Federal Reserve. They do this so the U.S. Govenment does appear to be Nationalising the Banking industry - that is pure monopoly for you dumbheads.

How that for pulling the rub over your eyes - or should I say the world''s eyes.

[gce65]

JP Morgan is supposedly in last minuet talks to buy Bear Stearns, but at a substantially lower price than its last tumble friday to about $30 per share. That''s because JP Morgan knows BS will fail Monday morning.

Watch the stock totally bottom out on Monday as there''s a flurry of every remaining shareholder to get out while they can, for ANYTHING they can get.

The Fed doesn''t care about individual shareholders on the street. It only cares about keeping money flowing between big banks. But that''ll stop as soon as a few more investment banks see runs from their investors, just like what happened to BS.

[gce65]

Remember that scene at the end of the movie Animal House? The one where there''s panic in the streets after the college town parade is interrupted? A young Kevin Bacon in his National Guard outfit is yelling at everyone, "Remain calm! All is WELL!" They trample him because they know all is not well.

I think investors are the same: lie to them or cheat them and they won''t be very trusting. After so many corporate scandals--aided and abetted by Wall Street banks--investors in Bear Stearns don''t believe the corporate PR line anymore that everything is fine and there''s no liquidity problem. Ironic their initials are BS, huh?

BS''s CEO was on TV late last week saying there was no problem. 24 hours later a problem suddenly materialized.

Who would YOU believe?

[hungry1968]

If this deal is carried out, then the bail out from the federal government should be immediately cancelled.

These banks / investment firms are now willing to buy Bear Stearns AFTER the bail out is announced, and making it a very lucrative buying opportunity, at American tax payer expense.

[lorinkundert]

So the FED is going to continue diluting the dollar by throwing more monopoly money into the banks. 100 Billion printed up is 100 billion less current money is worth

[dronemonk]

2 bucks a share isn''t enough.
Bear Stern''s building in NYC alone is worth more than $2/share.

[mcv57]

So the FED is going to continue diluting the dollar by throwing more monopoly money into the banks. 100 Billion printed up is 100 billion less current money is worth

Posted by lorinkundert

It''s a world banking game. Northstar was nationalised by the British weeks past - the investors are still waiting for their dividends. Now, the U.S. Government is nationalising the Bears&Stern. JP Morgan Bank is just a stooge (for the U.S. Federal Reserve - they call all the shots) in a world financial game to keep the Bushman from prison and the World from starving. The White House regime at its best.

[Latrocinor]

Who would YOU believe?

Posted by gce65 at 07:23 PM : Mar 16, 2008
-------------------------
The Wall Street Journal is a good start.

[mcv57]

Bush is rekindling the cold war and the Star War program and Russia is following suit. With all the tension building in China, the dictorial governments of Asia may find other alliances. That will be the final alarm for meltdown.

[Latrocinor]

That will be the final alarm for meltdown.

Posted by mcv57 at 09:46 PM : Mar 16, 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

....What meltdown are you referring to??

[mcv57]

Posted by bhoogren

World markets!

[nothappyatall]

PMorgan''s acquisition of Bear Stearns represents roughly 1 percent of what the investment bank was worth just 16 days ago."

Keep in mind, this can happen to ANY bank, a fool and his money are soon parted as they say, anyone who has investiment funds, stocks, savings accounts or whatever had better start thinking about what they are going to do when this snowballs and theres more failures- your investment portfolio could become worth 2 cents on the dollar over some weekend and come Monday you get the news. The CEOS will get their funds out first of course- hidden safely in some offshore accounts, while the rest of you find your savings, investments gone, and your credit card no longer working because over the weekend the issuing bank closed up.
Dont worry tho, the FDIC ''insurance'' protects you for up to $100,000, but if you had a million...or if you need your money NOW and have to wait 6 months for the FDIC...

[king77shaw]

we are indeed in extraordinary times .. BUT BEWARE:

the mainstream propaganda machine is already spitting out myth after myth - and now it''''s priming the American middle & working poor for what will amount to a bail out of the ELITES .. the same Wall ("War") Street ELITES that sent our jobs and futures overseas and straddled our children and grandchildren with insurmountable debt will soon be asking for our help ... TELL THEM NO ! .. it will be increasingly apparent over the coming weeks and months that our financial and political systems are out of touch, irrelevant - it will be best to focus your time, energy and finances on basic survival needs; food, water, gold & silver, land, guns & ammo etc ... discard the unnecessary and get to know your neighbor ..

[mcv57]

Dont worry tho, the FDIC ''''insurance'''' protects you for up to $100,000, but if you had a million...or if you need your money NOW and have to wait 6 months for the FDIC...

Posted by newster1

That is a joke on you. In the 80s, the FDIC was nearly bankrupt attempting to bail-out all of the S & L. Can you imagine a major multinational bank collapse. You will never see your money - just as 30s. Banks will close their doors and never reopen. The White House will be too business keeping the Government solvent.

[nothappyatall]

JP Morgan Chase is another mega conglomerate, now growing even bigger towards a monopoly, so like what happens when JP Morgan bites the big one like Bear-stern, Enron, Worldcom-Att.

LOL The feds lowering the interest again, maybe now as much as 2%, given time they can only go down to 0% and then their only option is paying a percentage for banks to TAKE the money.
Better have your ***-sets in metals like silver and gold, the several pounds of silver ingots I bought @ $5 an ounce a few years ago are now closing around $20 an ounce.

[mcv57]

replace business with busy.

[nothappyatall]

Better watch and learn about the Fed Reserve Bank, margin loans that collapsed 16,000 banks and caused the Great Depression;

Part 1, links to the other 4 parts;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dmPchuXIXQ&NR=1

[nothappyatall]

NO joke on me mcv57, I dont keep MY money in any bank, I also dont hold a mortage or car loans- my house/car are fully paid off.

Watch that video clip I posted just now, JP Morgan- the founder is detailed in there as well, you can smell the corruption with Morgan, Rokefeller, Rothschild and other money barons in the 1920''s and their scehems that caused the panic of 1907, 1914-1919 and the Great Depression

[Latrocinor]

Fed Races to Rescue Bear Stearns

In Bid to Steady Financial System
Storied Firm Sees
Stock Plunge 47%;
J.P. Morgan Steps In
By KATE KELLY, GREG IP and ROBIN SIDEL
March 15, 2008; Page A1; THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

The role of J.P. Morgan as Bear''s savior is somewhat paradoxical, considering the recent tense relationship between the two firms. J.P. Morgan was one of several lenders that played a role in Bear''s troubles last summer when J.P. Morgan demanded more collateral from one of Bear''s struggling hedge funds. There was a heated conversation between Mr. Black, co-head of J.P. Morgan''s investment bank, and Mr. Spector, then Bear''s co-president, over Bear''s reluctance to bail out the hedge fund. J.P. Morgan ultimately served Bear with a default notice on a loan to Bear.

Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney''s office for the Eastern District of New York, based in Brooklyn, are investigating whether the funds'' managers misled investors in a way that constitutes fraud.

[mcv57]

I have a feeling the gasoline will go up tomorrow. I figure, another $0.20. By week''s end, $3.90. The irony is that gasoline seems to be holding everything together. But ... once that life-blood is cut-off, all hell will break loose.

[mcv57]

I am watching the BoA stock shares everyday. Once it hits below 25, I will shift it all to U.S.

[mcv57]

U.S. bonds

[mcv57]

Posted by newster1

You may lose your house and car. Someone had stated that if you could, buy a farm and grow your own food. But questioned the remedy of that, one never, ever owns a house (you will always have property taxes every year). If you lose your job, how are you going to pay for the taxes on the farm, and how are you going to pay for electricity and gas.

I don''t own real estate, so I guess we are in the same boat, captain.

[Latrocinor]

That is a joke on you. In the 80s, the FDIC was nearly bankrupt attempting to bail-out all of the S & L. Can you imagine a major multinational bank collapse. You will never see your money - just as 30s. Banks will close their doors and never reopen. The White House will be too business keeping the Government solvent.

Posted by mcv57 at 09:54 PM : Mar 16, 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------

.Please explain how the FDIC can go bankrupt?

[nothappyatall]

Please explain how the FDIC can go bankrupt?

Posted by bhoogren"

SImple; not enough money on hand or obtainable, sudden demand for it that cant be met, or expenses exceed revenue, the only option is BANKRUPTCY

[mcv57]

Please explain how the FDIC can go bankrupt?

Posted by bhoogren

Can''t get into the details. I recommend you research the S & L debacle of the 1980s. Yea, they ran out of funding and guess who flip the bill - you guessed it, YOU, the taxpaper.

Good nite.

[Latrocinor]

Running out of money is a obvious no brainer. How do they run out of money?

[Latrocinor]

I''ll answer it, they won''t. The government will back it up just like Bear.

Also there are significant checks and balances to preven "runs".

It takes a run on liquidity to cause this. There are certain levels of liquidity where certain safeguards kick in.

This sounds like one of those Y2K website things.

[Latrocinor]

Whereas insolvent banks in the United States were typically detected and shut down quickly by bank regulators, Congress sought to change regulatory rules so S&Ls would not have to acknowledge insolvency and the FHLBB would not have to close them down.

Savings and Loan Crisis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[nothappyatall]

You DID notice that the dollar is devaluating against every other currency havent you? Now the Canadian dollar which was worth about 70 US cents is worth MORE than the US dollar, the british pound was worth about $1.50 is now worth about $2, as the US dollar continues to devaluate remember that the dollar is no longer backed by GOLD as it was, it''s all just paper now since 1933

Go WATCH this 5 part movie that details all you need to learn about the Fed Reserve bank and its history, who was behind its creation and the panic of 1907, the crazy loan scheme invented in the 20''s where you paid 10% down on stock but the catch was they could call in the loans on 24 hour notice, they were, and the end result was the crash of ''29

JP Morgan, Rockefeller and others were involved in this banking scheme, JP Morgan- the FOUNDING guy whose name is on the conglomerate in this article- JP Morgan-Chase

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dmPchuXIXQ&NR=1

[Latrocinor]

...the crazy loan scheme invented in the 20''''s where you paid 10% down on stock but the catch was they could call in the loans on 24 hour notice,...

Posted by newster1 at 10:41 PM : Mar 16, 2008

------------------

So you think they still can''t? Read the fine print.

[nothappyatall]

mcv57; in a major breakdown like the depression but 10 times worse, paying your property tax (or the county even trying to collect any) would be the LEAST of the problems. MY taxes are $125 a YEAR on my house with 1/2 acre of land.
As far as food, electric and gas etc. a single person does not eat a lot of food, thus a closet full of sealed canned goods would keep for years, as would dry bulk foods like rice, spaghetti, flour.
Electric can be generated without a power company pretty easy if you know the basics.
We may be in the same boat but when the ship sinks, I''m going to be the one who has a floatation device, it ight be cold, difficult etc but on the other hand, the ones who have the $1500/mo mortgage, cant screw in a lightbulb without help, have to call in a plumber to fix a leaking faucet- the Al Bundy types. Those in debt to their eyeballs are the ones who will be like folks in the bottom level of the titanic sealed in by waterproof doors unable to escape- those are the ones who will ''drown'' in a month and sink to the bottom along with their SUV''s.
THIS year is probably the best/last opportunity to take action to ensure you HAVE a stockpile of what you need.
I dont work for a paycheck, I have an on-line business that does well, the downturn in the economy hasnt affected my sales in the least

[Latrocinor]

Our sales are up from normal

[newsterl]

...the crazy loan scheme invented in the 20''''''''s where you paid 10% down on stock but the catch was they could call in the loans on 24 hour notice,...

Posted by newster1 at 10:41 PM : Mar 16, 2008

------------------

So you think they still cant? Read the fine print.
Posted by bhoogren"

Did my post SAY I thought they cant? no, it simply says the SCHEME was invented and started in the 1920s, where do you read that I said otherwise?
You paid 10% down to control 100%, the catch was they could call in the loans to be paid within 24 hours. You have a similar scam today in mortgages with balloon or adj rates- people dont READ the fine print, so comes the day when their $450 payment suddenly becomes a note for an immediate payment of $12,000 due for your *balloon* payment, whats a balloon payment? OOPS you didnt read the FINE print when you bought the house did you?

See, Im smarter than that, I made SURE my mortgage was fixed rate with NO penalty for prepayment, then I paid it off in 6 years with double payments- the extra put on the prin. THAT my friend is how you buy a HOUSE and more importantly- how you STAY there thru think or thin.

[Latrocinor]

Did my post SAY I thought they cant? no, it simply says the SCHEME was invented and started in the 1920s, where do you read that I said otherwise?

Posted by newsterl at 10:59 PM : Mar 16, 2008
-----------
I apologize, I did read into it. Good call.

[nothappyatall]

I apologize, I did read into it. Good call.
Posted by bhoogren"

APology accepted bhoogren, thanks

[Latrocinor]

See, Im smarter than that, I made SURE my mortgage was fixed rate with NO penalty for prepayment, then I paid it off in 6 years with double payments- the extra put on the prin. THAT my friend is how you buy a HOUSE and more importantly- how you STAY there thru think or thin.
-------------
I think you hit the nail on the head.

How does one "stay there".

Think about people who wanted the 0% intro interest rate credit cards to refinance their old card and live on.

An interesting factoid; Some don''t but most very wealthy pay off their cards and pay no interst.

Many do not care about interest charged - they don''t plan to have to pay it.

Last year Chase, Citi, HSBC and other card issuers voided account terms that existed for decades and raised the card interest rates, some to default rates.

Also some cards were outright canceled and applications mailed to the owners so they could reapply for new cards with not very kind terms and conditions.

There is a big market for prepaid cards with big establishment fees that, in some cases, exceed the card amount. These are NOT pre-paid cards.

Imagine a person getting a $250 dollar Visa or Master Card and paying $250.00 in account opening fees.

How about a card with over $79 monthly maintenance fee?

The the little guy is guilty too.

[Latrocinor]

"These are NOT pre-paid cards."

I meant to write

"These are not the pre-pay deposits."

Duh!

[gce65]

Nothing says RUN ON THE BANKS like a $2 per share buyout (that was worth what, about $160 six weeks ago?)...except that it was done in emergency around-the-clock meetings over the weekend by people at the highest levels of banking and govt finance.

I SMELL FEAR! I SMELL A MONDAY MORNING RUN ON BANKS!

[nothappyatall]

I think you hit the nail on the head.
How does one "stay there".

Its much easier when you dont have a mortgage OR rent to deal with, I dont, but most people DO- they are the ones who are at the bottom of the titanic when their job goes away. Most people are one or two paychecks away from disaster, especially if their cards are maxed out! the same people are maybe 2 or 3 mortgage payments away from foreclosure- it snw balls- no job, no income, no mortgage payments, no house or telephone with which to accept calls for potential job interviews.

"Think about people who wanted the 0% intro interest rate credit cards to refinance their old card and live on."

Yes, and those cards will be harder to get now, and you cant keep robbing peter to pay paul- if you pay the minimum payments this is bad for your FICO credit score too- you must pay MORE than the minimum, if only $10. My statement on line shows a default graph of how many payments are minimum, over the minimum, late, no payment due etc My FICO score is near 800- I NEVER pay just the minimum.

[nothappyatall]

"An interesting factoid; Some dont but most very wealthy pay off their cards and pay no interst"

They probably have cards that are below 10% cause they DO have money and good scores.

"Many do not care about interest charged - they dont plan to have to pay it."

Bankruptcy is no longer a viable option for most people like it WAS, now you could be locked into repaying it over 5 years instead of all wiped out.

"Last year Chase, Citi, HSBC"

I HATE Household Bank Card, told them to shove their card a few years ago after they called me with sales offers at dinner time when I previously stated I wanted NO calls- ever.


"There is a big market for prepaid cards wit"

You must mean the pre-approved cards with the paltry $300 limit or requiring a deposit, and having annual fees etc that pretty much start you out with about 1/3 of the limit there.
I get the offers, I tear them up, I have ONE card, Washington Mutual/PayPal with a $6500 line, been good to me.

"How about a card with over $79 monthly maintenance fee?"

If I got one of those I''d laugh in their faces and send their application back in pieces in their pre-paid envelope

[incog-nito]

Nothing more than a blatant ripoff of BSC shareholders. Modern day robber barons.

[brianbwb-2009]

An article in the London Times last week quoted the CEO of Bear Stearns as saying that B.S. (how apropos the initials) had over 12 Billion as a liquidity cushion.

This was in response to speculation by the Brits that a major US bank was about to collapse, and the most likely candidate was Bear Stearns.

B.S. is selling B.S., and now JP Morgan is buying it.

All you stockholders of either stock had better have some KY jelly handy.

[nothappyatall]

...but more and more services come out on Internet focusing on this kind of relationship, such as
DATING-SITE-SPAMMER-REPORTED-TO-CBS.com . how do you think of such a thing?

Posted by liu_justice"

Gee, I think you are a SPAMMER for your dating site that has virus'' that could damage PC user''s computers with spyware and adware if they go to it, therefor it is reported to CBS

[nothappyatall]

JP Morgan''s founder, the namesake of the company is probably the most original crook of all, the man was involved in the banking schemes back in the 20''s and earlier which eventually calused the crash of ''29 and the creation of this Federal Reserve Bank, if you watch that segment in the zeitgeistmovie.com film (clips are also on youtube) you will learn how/why the US was taken off the gold standard on paper money, what caused the panic of 1907, why the FRB was created- WHO was involved, why, how the crash happened, how those 10% down stock schemes worked-WHO created the idea and how all of that is poised to repeat itself today.

AND with the same company involved in this massive takeover for 2 cents on the dollar Id be on the lookout for things to go downhill from here towards another depression type crash.
One parallel between then and now is WAR, there was WW1 which the country didnt want anything to do with but were forced into it, then WW2, then Vietnam which started on a false pretext- the bay of tonkin incident that now we learned never happened but which was used to get us into the war, now we are embroiled in Iraq & Afghanistan to the tune of $14 billion a MONTH, think about where the MONEY goes and who stands to rake in billions the longer it continues, then you can see why theres no urgent push to get out or remove troops.
Skumbag corps like morgan, enron, blackwater etc gain

[nothappyatall]

Look what happened as a result of this;

"Asian Markets Down After Bank Sold For $2 A Share; Dollar Hits New Low As Oil Prices Climb"

[l8c6]

Those who own the government and the monetary system can''t go wrong. When profits are up, the bullying cries are for "free" unregulated markets and "privatization". When the going gets rough then the line changes to a nationalized concern that the citizens of the U.S. must carry the burden for thus bailout out these huge global monetary institutions. What a pyramid scheme the big monetary system players are running. The big players are anchored in global assets, the majority of humanity is anchored in fiat currency.

Sociopaths are scr*ewing it up again. It harkens back to a messed up Europe some 60 years ago.