bear stearns cos

Two former Bear Stearns managers are among the most prominent figures who could face criminal charges in the wake of the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, an official said.

A law enforcement official said an indictment naming Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tanin, both ex-managers of Bear Stearns Cos. hedge funds that collapsed last year, could be announced as early as Thursday, the result of a federal securities fraud investigation.

Bloomberg reports: Warren Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said the global credit crunch has eased for bankers, and the Federal Reserve probably averted more failures by helping to rescue Bear Stearns Cos.

Bloomberg reports: Warren Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said the global credit crunch has eased for bankers, and the Federal Reserve probably averted more failures by helping to rescue Bear Stearns Cos.

The Federal Reserve's moves to prop up Bear Stearns Cos. will come to be seen as "the worst policy mistake in a generation," the former head of monetary affairs at the Fed.

The Fed's moves "eliminated forever the possibility the Fed could serve as an honest broker," Mr. Reinhart said.

While Wall Street faces the biggest overhaul of its regulatory structure since the Great Depression, analysts are already wondering if the plan to be announced by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Monday would help prevent the kind of risky investments that led to the near-collapse of Bear Stearns Cos.

Bear Stearns Cos. was closing in on a deal Sunday afternoon to sell itself to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., as worries deepened that the financial crisis of confidence could spread if Bear failed to find a buyer by Monday morning.

Investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. was close to an emergency deal Sunday to be bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co., with both sides rushing to complete negotiations before markets opened in Asia.

Bear Stearns was forced into a government-led bailout on Friday after finding itself unable to meet the demands of lenders and customers trying to pull their cash out.

Investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. completed an emergency deal Sunday to be bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Bear Stearns was forced into a government-led bailout on Friday after finding itself unable to meet the demands of lenders and customers trying to pull their cash out.

Wall Street is facing a paradox of sorts right now as the damage from the credit crisis continues — the more investors find out about the problems caused by billions of dollars in failed mortgages and investments, the more unknowns seem to crop up.

The Street is hoping that this week, the Federal Reserve and the wounded Bear Stearns Cos. provide more answers than new, baffling questions.

Wall Street is facing a paradox as the damage from the credit crisis spreads — the more investors find out about the problems caused by billions of dollars in failed mortgages and investments, the more unknowns seem to crop up.

The Street is hoping that this week, the Federal Reserve and the fallout from the near-collapse of Bear Stearns Cos. provide some answers instead of more new questions.