Obviously the story everyone is talking about today is Kate Kelly's report, The Fall of Bear Stearns. As the first of three parts, its clear that the Wall Street Journal is aiming at writing the defining post-mortem report on the collapsed Wall Street legend. It's a great story, well-written that repeats some of the essential things that bear repeating--card playing, pot smoking, hedges funds collapsing--and it's even illustrated with helpful cartoons.
But let's face it: this thing is really long. If you haven't read it already, you're probably too busy to get through the whole thing. What's worse, there are two more installments coming. You'll never catch up! Think about how embarrassing this will be at the bar after work or over cocktails in Water Mill.
Don't worry, DealBreaker is here for you. Throughout the week, we'll be cutting the story down into small digestible bits. First up, the would-be cash injections that failed!
Kelly describes six efforts to raise billions of dollars that "fizzled as either Bear Stearns or suitors turned skittish."
Here's the Fizzle List. Click the image for a version you can print and save for handy reference.
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 1:24PM
This is incomplete without mention of the "chaos trade" by the bearded trader with the Grateful Dead tattoo. You have to wonder what would have happened if they stuck to their guns shorting the housing market nine different ways.
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 1:28PM
Best line: "Mr. Cayne, who declined to be interviewed for this article, was said by people close to him to be particularly angry that Mr. Spector, who with his partners won the event, had been away from the office at such a sensitive time."
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 1:50PM
Funny that two of the potential deals fizzled because of BSC's concerns considering how awesome their backup plan was.
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 2:13PM
The story was long, but if people read the reporting on Bear Stearns in the WSJ since the hedge funds went bust, most of the information was already out there. The "chaos trade" detail was one thing that had not been previously reported (and was interesting), and the dealings with KKR, JC Flowers, and Allianz had been reported as rumors.
Also, the detail about Alan Schwartz stopping by Jimmy Cayne's office and telling him bluntly "You need to move on ..." had not been reported previously, as far as I remember.
I guess the WSJ is doing this as a prelude to Bear Stearns' shareholders vote Thursday.
Posted by BottomFellOut , May 27, 2008 2:22PM
All the managements comments to the market during this debacle were "misleading and false."
Will the SEC bring an action against management?
All those BSC conference calls were not an accurate reflection of what was going on...the fact they resorted to the "chaos trade" meant they knew they were in real trouble.
Seems to me they deliberately misled the market.
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 2:22PM
served up for the pulitzer committee on a silver platter. Kate Kelly must be giddy.
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 2:26PM
any photos of kate kelly?
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 3:10PM
They were afraid their Lev Fin business would suffer b/c of the KKR deal?
Penny wise.
Is sure is suffering now
Posted by guest , May 27, 2008 3:35PM
Not LevFin so much as the prime brokerage and cap intro businesses.
Posted by guest , May 28, 2008 1:18AM
Check out this FUNNY CARTOON on "you tube" where the The Federal Reserve and JP Morgan Gobble Bear Stearns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9_EMDfnTfw
Check out this site too.. www.BEARSTEARNSLIVES.com
Posted by stimpy tec , May 28, 2008 3:17AM
My favorite part is where Kate Kelly writes about how dissatisfaction with Cayne "grew after a Nov. 1 story in The Wall Street Journal" by Kate Kelly.
Posted by guest , May 28, 2008 9:25AM
stimpy tec - yeah, that was kind of funny. Kate Kelly also doesn't mention that the WSJ chose an "unholy trinity" of Chuck Prince, Stan O'Neal, and Jimmy Cayne to hound on a regular basis, and wasn't satisfied until all three were out.