Wow. Dropped off my tax documents today. My accountant actually used the word "depression" - and he wasn't talking about my taxes. We were talking about Bear Stearns.
We've obviously got our own version of Nero in the Oval Office. And now, just minutes before the Asian markets open EST, Mr. Potter...er, I mean JP Morgan moves in to save George Bailey...er, Bear Sterns. I can just hear the BS execs: "Potter's not selling. He's buying. And why? Because we're panicked and he's not." Sorry - even as I write it, it's a mixed metaphor - there's no way the greed, hubris and arrogance of BS could be confused in any with George. And JP Morgan may in fact turn out to be the good guys saving us all from the next great "depression," but I'm not holding my breath.
But it doesn't negate the fact they stole BS right out from under itself. So in the fire sale, JP Morgan gets the deal of a lifetime - for a stock exchange that values BS (and I'm using that acronym on purpose) stock at $2 a share - down from $30 when the market closed Friday. I can't even do the math to figure out how much the company's value dropped over the weekend - from $3.4 BILLION to somewhere below $250 MILLION. A lot can happen in 48 hours. Big wow.
I'm sure I'm missing something huge - but from what I can gather, whatever Bear Stearns did - or didn't do -- it sure sounds alot like Enron: overvalued stock, large employee stock participation, exhorbitant salaries everywhere. Minus the huge Federal Reserve bailout of course. Is it me?
No comments:
Post a Comment