The Human Toll Of Bear Stearns: Dread On The Commute

Posted by John Carney, Mar 20, 2008, 3:36pm

We're a hardened lot here at DealBreaker. We laugh in the face of our failures. As regular readers know well, we try to provoke laughter at the failures of others. So it was surprising when we found ourselves getting a bit choked up this morning as we read the Metro section of the New York Times. Peter Applebome rides with the commuters from Chappaqua to discover fear and self-loathing aboard the 6:13.

The pilgrims from Chappaqua trudged in from the cold drizzle Wednesday morning and gathered in drowsy silence like crows on the covered overpass above the tracks until 6:11, when someone said, “It’s time to get our heads bashed in.” Thus inspired, they descended to the platform, piled onto the largely empty cars, and then, either asleep, reading a newspaper, or with heads bowed as if in prayer over BlackBerrys, journeyed in silence on the 32.4 miles to Grand Central.

There's no happy ending to the story, unless you count Applebome's buddhist-stoicism as a version of happiness. As they say on the internet, read the whole thing.

Bear’s News Is Bad News on the 6:13 [New York Times]

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Posted in: Bear Stearns, The Commute

Comments

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 3:45PM

I've seen so many people screwed by Wall Street in deals it's not even funny. Karma people! It certainly didn't hurt when funds/corporates/banks wanted to cut costs by slashing jobs in order to boost profits. Welcome to the new U S of f'in A. Some people make, err steal, $300 million and some people are left unemployed, confused, and depressed wondering what happened. Isn't greed good? Gecko went to jail if ya remember. Where is that sequel anyway? Even if it is London.

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 4:10PM

Karma can be a bitch, huh. Fear and Greed that rules Wall-Street killed Bear, why the complaints? Hundreds of thousands of Employees have been laid-off to appease wall-street, big deal.
Finally, I hope the type-A wall-streets males mellow out and stop pushing your kids into uber-competitive jerks on the soccer team.

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 4:33PM

Since when have all these non-financial poor liberals started reading DB??? This cannot be good for your advertising revenues. You're diluting your brand.

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 4:35PM

Well, it's kind of sobering to have millions of dollars in your 401(k)fund vanish over a single week-end.

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 4:41PM

Ah, now karma would be if the unemployed Bear Stearns guy, time heavy on his hands, becomes coach of his son's soccer team, and his wife, needing to bring in some cash, goes to work at the town hair salon. (Or how about cleaning Hillary's house?) More likely and some would sadly, I predict that some of the folks who work(ed) at Bear Stearns will find their marriages go bust, as their partners become disenchanted with their new Bear reality, and think "hey, I didn't marry this guy just to be a member of the middle class." Brutal, but in some cases, probably true. Let's check in with Peter Appleborne in a few months, and see whether the rate of divorce has gone up in Chappaqua.

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 4:53PM

Nobody with money lives in chappaqua or takes that train line. Its mostly brokers and other leeches. Who cares? Now, if it was the Greenwich train station, I would care...

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 4:54PM

Nobody cares what you predict you fucking clown. I know you think everyone on Wall Street is Gordon Gekko but these are people, most of whom are not fabulously rich, who just had most of their net worth taken away, to the detriment of their families and communities. It's a cyclical business, and when it's funny I'll laugh, but there's nothing courageous about kicking guys while their down.

So take your whinging socialist tripe somewhere else.

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 4:56PM

What is this "train" you speak of?

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 5:03PM

@4.54 - If their wives were team players, they could work in massage places giving happy endings to the winner of wall st. Or wait in the parking lot and give bjs to guys with jobs. Its a living.

@4.56 - http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 5:05PM

@4:54-- couldn't have said it better...these ppl who are laughing about this are jerks...many of the readers here are the younger and dont yet have any financial responsibilities except for themselves...getting laid off if you're a first or second year with rent sux, getting laid off if you're a father with a mortgage and three tuitions to pay for when you're middle aged and realize you have no savings and little chance to be picked up by another bank is devastating...yes, karma is a bitch, but remember, it's only so long before you, or a friend, is a victim of a layoff

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 5:06PM

From realestate.aom.
Re: Price of Chappaqua houses:
Average market value $1,148,266
Average list price $1,472,001

Posted by BSD, Mar 20, 2008 5:10PM

These "main street socialists" should stick to doing what they do best - polishing my shoes while looking up at me with the same reverence as that 14 year old at Executive Massage.

"Gecko went to jail if ya remember." Actually, that was Bud Fox.

While I'm sure it makes your panties wet to think of everyone on Wall Street as the epitome of corporate greed, as 4:54 pointed out most are regular white-collar employees - and they're the ones getting fucked. Not that I care (you're right about that much).

The maybe dozen people at BSC who actually were talented and made money will have little problem getting a new job once the market cycle picks up in a year. If they were dumb enough to be so undiversified as to hold all their savings in BSC stock then they deserve what they got.

Now get back to shining my Bottega's like Lucy Liu shined my pole.

Posted by Anal_yst, Mar 20, 2008 5:12PM

What the majority of people (i.e. outside of finance) do not realize is that the wealth/income is skewed within the profession similarly (although not as dramatically) as it is in the population as a whole. A very very small minority making millions a year, with several tens of thousands in the tens to low-hundreds of thousands who are for the most part (relatively) honest, hard working middle class people.

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 5:19PM

BSD....Bottega's? is this dress down day for you?

Posted by BSD, Mar 20, 2008 5:22PM

Naturally. Tomorrow is a holiday after all.

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 5:27PM

Naturally.

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 5:28PM

Why are BS EEs complaning, this is Capitalism at its best. Survival of the fittest, no?

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 8:37PM

5:05 - what is ur proposed solution? do you have one?

Posted by guest, Mar 20, 2008 9:03PM

@8:37
no proposed solution, but i dont see alternatives offered in this post either...i'm not saying that a JPM takeover isn't the best decision, and i'm not saying that bsc is worth more than the $2/sh price bc we dont know what sort of liabilities JPM has to take on, but i am saying DB and its readers (and i'm a "regular" reader) can maybe be a bit more respectful and a bit less smug..ok, it was funny, we all laughed, it's easy to make jokes, but a little maturity and respect pls...i know bess is abt 23 and carney is delusionally thinks he's young, but lets step it up a little ppl...and, for ppl who are so high and mighty, i seem to recall VERY few ppl looking to pitch in when fundraising was sought to support the girl/1-2 date...i'm just saying the joke is getting stale...i know this is a stretch of a comparison, but would you make fun of the ppl in NOLA who lost their homes?

Posted by JorgeCad, Mar 21, 2008 12:00AM

Been following this string and my only thought is this, get over it. Market puked, after way too many good years, and now BSC is the sacrificed lamb. This has happened before, it happened now and it will happen again.

Folks you don't work for McDonalds, it's the nature of the game on the street. You can win big or flame out large. I can not even believe I have to point this out. Too bad - so sad.

Posted by guest, Mar 21, 2008 12:50AM

@9:03

I'm a Bear employee, and I even think you are being over-dramatic and well, lame.

JC and Bess, please continue with the bitter sarcasm, smug commentary and effacing analysis.

Posted by guest, Mar 21, 2008 2:31AM

guest @ 12:50am - Glad to read one upbeat remark from a Bear employee. Not that I think everyone at Bear should take what happened in stride -- that's unrealistic if you're an older person and you've lost a big chunk of your retirement money, or you're a family breadwinner with a number of dependants and you don't know how things will work out.

But what happened, happened. Misfortune beyond our control happens in life.

I sure don't wish further harm from the Bear debacle on anyone. But if someone comes up with a good joke about it all, I'm going to laugh.

Posted by JorgeCad, Mar 21, 2008 12:15PM

@9:03
No drama, no lameness. Face it, the beast of Wall Street turned on you large. Sorry about your luck. How do you think Joe Lewis feels?

It's really too bad because, I know, BSC has alot of great people. But again, you live by the sword and die by the sword.

I hear McD put out some amazing results, why not give them a shot, at least its real work.

Posted by guest, Mar 21, 2008 12:25PM

I got hammered in the dotcom bust. Here we are 8 years later, and I still haven't recovered. Probably never will, completely.

I have a great deal of empathy and sympathy for all of the decent, hard-working bastards who are now facing devastation because of the Bear debacle.

As for the 100 or so Gekkos and Gekko wannabes who are now having their dicks or tits cut off, I have nothing but contempt. Maybe they can find some quarters or dimes under the seats of their leased Bentleys. Maybe they can try using their $900 door knobs from Gracious Home for dildos. Maybe they can even fish out the turds left over from too many lunches at Delmonico's and make themselves sandwiches for a new lunch. Whatever shit happens to those creeps will be interesting to watch.

Note to Guest March 20, 4:53 pm: Now if I see some of those cut-off dicks and tits lying on the tracks at Greenwich train station, I would consider that to be an especially good day.

Posted by guest, Mar 21, 2008 5:09PM

I don't want to seem vulture like, but our 28 year old commodities firm is looking for a Staff Accountant to manage our growing business. He will report to the CFO and the job has growth potential.
Bigger is not always better! If someone reading this blog knows how to reach out to disaffected accountants at BS, please tell me how. I bet there is someone there who would like to get out of that pressure cooker and find a job where he/she is not just a number in the back office.

Posted by guest, Mar 23, 2008 7:06PM

yea, it may be karma that bear stearns got screwed, but it's not karma for the current workers and non-execs who didnt make the decision to screw over LTCM. so suck on that all you fuck faces saying bear deserves this. maybe a few people at the top, but not everyone

Posted by guest, Mar 24, 2008 1:30AM

If the Sunday night NY Times is right, there is a new chapter in the Bear Stearns saga.

Hold off on the karma talk for now. It seems that Jamie Dimon may be rethinking his hard deal.

Posted by guest, Mar 24, 2008 2:09AM

this hit job wasn't well thought out.

without getting wordy and verbose, the fed tried to protect counter parties and the general financial system by figuratively executing bear stearns.

in order to execute bear, they had to provide free insurance to the only bank which could absorb bear leftovers.

instead of shooting bear stearns in the head and making it quick, it's like a death of a thousand cuts, which now leaves bear shareholders feeling like they have something valuable while jpm goes through the pockets of bsc like a street thug.

lol

this entire fiasco is culsterfuck to the nth degree.

Posted by guest, Apr 03, 2008 6:56PM

please, a moment of compassion the poor trophy wife who after overthrowing the 50 something hag with a viagra induced pregnancy, is left with the suddenly way less sexy balding and unemployed SMD. another commuter affair gone south.

Posted by guest, Apr 03, 2008 6:56PM

please, a moment of compassion the poor trophy wife who after overthrowing the 50 something hag with a viagra induced pregnancy, is left with the suddenly way less sexy balding and unemployed SMD. another commuter affair gone south.

Posted by guest, Apr 03, 2008 7:03PM

please, a moment of compassion for the poor trophy wife who after overthrowing the 50 something hag with a viagra induced pregnancy, is left with the suddenly way less sexy balding and unemployed SMD. another commuter affair gone south.

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