Bear Stearns

Washington, D.C., May 15, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the start of a $267 million Fair Fund distribution to mutual funds and mutual fund shareholders who were harmed by late trading and market timing that occurred through Bear Stearns, which was charged by the SEC in a 2006 enforcement action.

Today's disbursement of more than $216 million will go to approximately 761,000 shareholders who were harmed by the wrongdoing, and to the asset bases of more than 1,000 affected mutual funds. The Bear Stearns Fair Fund will ultimately return more than $267 million to harmed mutual funds and shareholders before the end of this year.    » read more »

Wall Street bailout, interest rate cut only pieces of the puzzle

March 18, 2008 -- Newark, NJ – U. S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, issued the following statement in the wake of the Federal Reserve interest rate cut and the recent purchase of Bear Stearns Co.:    » read more »

March 17, 2008 -- Responding to the Federal Reserve’s emergency action on the sale of Bear Stearns, John Irons, Research and Policy Director of the Economic Policy Institute, issued this statement:

“Emergency actions by the Federal Reserve over the weekend to back and coordinate the fire-sale of the investment bank Bear Stearns were necessary to ensure the stability of the financial market, but underlying instabilities remain unaddressed.    » read more »

17 March 2008 -- Asian stocks opened sharply lower and the dollar fell Monday morning despite steps taken by the U.S. Central Bank to avert a credit crisis that threatens to plunge the U.S. economy into recession.

Late Sunday, the Federal Reserve cut its lending rate to banks, about the same time U.S. banking giant JPMorgan Chase agreed to buy cash-strapped rival Bear Stearns.    » read more »

New York, March 16, 2008 -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) announced it is acquiring The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE: BSC). The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction.

The transaction will be a stock-for-stock exchange. JPMorgan Chase will exchange 0.05473 shares of JPMorgan Chase common stock per one share of Bear Stearns stock. Based on the closing price of March 15, 2008, the transaction would have a value of approximately $2 per share.    » read more »