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HomeAce Greenberg on Jimmy Cayne: “Dope-Smoking Megalomaniac”
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 22nd, 2010 4:22 PM |
Having worked at Bear Stearns for seven years, I have a keen interest in the behind the scenes stories and personalities leading to the ultimate demise of this once proud firm.
Last summer, I reviewed William Cohan’s book, House of Cards, which details Bear’s demise. In my commentary, I wrote the following about Jimmy Cayne:
Longstanding CEO Jimmy Cayne displays a hardened, street-smart approach throughout the book. At times of stress, however, Cayne showed himself to be a classless individual. I remember this well.
My description of Cayne was more than gracious compared to that provided by former Bear CEO Alan “Ace” Greenberg in his recently released book, The Rise and Fall of Bear Stearns.>>>>> (more…)
Jimmy Cayne: A Man of Very Few Words
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 5th, 2010 2:05 PM |
Jimmy Cayne, Former CEO of Bear Stearns
I am currently watching the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s questioning of former Bear Stearns executives Jimmy Cayne and Alan Schwartz. In their opening statements, both Cayne and Schwartz deflected their managerial responsibilities as reasons for the firm’s demise.
Although I have long held out Jimmy Cayne as an exceptionally arrogant and greedy individual, his current performance evokes a range of emotions on my part. On one hand, I see Cayne as somewhat disinterested. On the other hand, I actually feel a tad sympathetic for Jimmy Cayne as he comes across as a frail, almost broken man. His abbreviated answers connote a lack of full understanding and control of the issues.
FCIC Should Ask Bear Stearns Execs About EMC Mortgage
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 5th, 2010 12:04 PM |
Will America ever truly learn the full extent of fraudulently underwritten mortgages that lie at the foundation of our overall economic crisis?
Aside from a less than fully transparent hearing with executives from Washington Mutual, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) has not drilled down to fully expose the fraud within these mortgages. Former bank regulator William K. Black recently highlighted the pervasive nature of this fraud in an interview with Bill Moyers.
Why doesn’t the FCIC dig deeper to reveal which firms were involved with this activity? (more…)
Robert Reich, “The Fed in Hot Water”
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 1st, 2010 5:14 PM |
Former Clinton Secretary of Labor Robert Reich had some very strong words today for the Federal Reserve. In his commentary which I find at Wall Street Pit, Reich questions the constitutionality of the Fed’s actions in 2008. None of this comes as a surprise, but it should cause America to wake up to the fact that the Wall Street-Washington incestuous relationship has run roughshod over America before and now throughout our economic crisis.
Who in Washington is willing to blow the whistle on this incest? Reich writes, The Fed in Hot Water:
The Fed has finally came clean. It now admits it bailed out Bear Stearns – taking on tens of billions of dollars of the bank’s bad loans – in order to smooth Bear Stearns’ takeover by JPMorgan Chase (JPM). (more…)
Bear Stearns: R.I.P
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 8th, 2010 12:09 PM |
As of today, Bear Stearns is no longer.
What? I bet you’re thinking Bear was taken over by JP Morgan in spring 2008 and ceased to exist when the takeover was approved a few months later. You’d be right. I am right also. How so?
As with many mergers and takeovers, the name of the acquired firm continues to be utilized within certain divisions. That is exactly the case with Bear Stearns, as those two storied names continued to be utilized in the Private Client Services unit at JP Morgan. Until today. (more…)
My Thoughts on the Bear Stearns Hedge Fund Case
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 11th, 2009 10:26 AM |
Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin
Does yesterday’s verdict in the Bear Stearns hedge fund case establish a precedent that precludes likely guilty verdicts in other financial fraud cases? Let’s hope not.
I did not sit in on this trial, so I am not about to weigh in on the verdict. Consensus opinion from those who did sit in on the trial seems to agree that the prosecution presented a very weak case. Additionally, the prosecution was challenged from the standpoint of not being able to admit selected and seemingly incriminating e-mails as evidence.
The not guilty verdict in this specific case does not preclude Cioffi and Tannin from facing other charges. What was the key to this case? The Wall Street Journal sheds light on this case and verdict in writing, U.S. Loses Bear Fraud Case:
The acquittals are a setback for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, N.Y., which along with several other offices is investigating Wall Street for possible criminal wrongdoing stemming from the credit crisis, including at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and American International Group Inc. In Tuesday’s case, the question boiled down to this: Were the two men misleading investors, or simply putting a positive spin on sagging returns? (more…)
