JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to buy Bear Stearns Cos. for $240 million, about 90 percent less than its value last week, after a run on the company ended 85 years of independence for Wall Street’s fifth-largest securities firm.
Shareholders of Bear Stearns will get stock in JPMorgan equivalent to about $2 a share, compared with $30 at the close on March 14. The U.S. Federal Reserve will provide financing for the transaction, including support for as much as $30 billion of Bear Stearns’s “less-liquid assets.”
Bear Stearns had a stock-market value of about $3.5 billion as of Friday – and was worth $20 billion in January 2007. But the crisis of confidence that swept the firm and fueled a customer exodus in recent days left Bear Stearns with a horrible choice: sell the firm — at any price — to a big bank willing to assume its trading obligations or file for bankruptcy. “At the end of the day, what Bear Stearns was looking at was either taking $2 a share or going bust,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “Those were the only options.”
The Federal Reserve, struggling to prevent a meltdown in financial markets, cut the rate on direct loans to banks and became lender of last resort to the biggest dealers in U.S. government bonds.
In its first weekend emergency action in almost three decades, the central bank lowered the so-called discount rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.25 percent. The Fed also will lend to the 20 firms that buy Treasury securities directly from it.
(Source: Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Yahoo! Business News)
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21 Responses
Many Yidden work at Bear. Have them in mind during your tefilos.
Its bought down that right before yemos hamoshiach there will be a huge financial hardship and loses and countries will be swept into serious depressions and recessions.
where is it brought down?
Rav Mechel,
I hope you are right……IY”H this depression/recession should lead to bigger and better things.
Ani Ma’amin….
#3 you mean like after 1929
but President ? Bush says everything is honky dory
As someone who worked in the securities industry for 28 years, this is truly frightening. I’ve seen smaller firms being swallowed up by larger firms over the course of several years. Number 1 is correct; this is reminiscent of the great depression. AND many Jews are employed there. Please have them in mind when we daven for Parnassah – needless to say, being laid off IS NOT a pleasant feeling.
buy puts on the dow
i.e DIA
Regarding #3 it’s in Sanhedrin Perek Chelek.
Those who have lost their jobs can call PCS of Agudah 732-905-9700
718- 436-1900
Any hardship is deserving of sympathy and tefillos, but this is NOTHING like the great depression of 1929.
My dad works there – please be mispallel for all of the yiddishe workers
They even have a mincha minyan here everyday
That is correct. A-lot of Yidden work there. I went there to Daven Mincha one day and they had over 3-Minyanims. Hashem Yazor. They also were a strong(financially)supporter of Eretz Yisrael. May Hashem help them and turn over thier troubles just like he turned over Hamans plan !!!
i think hashem is telling us that we need to stop with all this ‘working’ nonsense and spend more time learning. this is truly a yeshua for those yidden who used to work at this place. now they can join a kollel and learn all day like hashem wants.
Is there any information as to what lead to such a sudden decline in price.We all know this is Yad H-shem, but what is the version al pi teva.
no 11 i contacted aguda better pray
Lawman #5: Ma Yaaseh Adam v’yinatzel mechvlei mashiach. Chazal tell us that we will NOT want those tzaros, and gives us eitzos to avoid them. (Yaasok baTorah ugmilus chasadim) One should NEVER ask for the tzaros, with the hope that Moshiach will then come.
“Ein bed David ba…ad shetichleh perutah min hakis.”
Sanhedrin 97a.
See there for other simanim.
עת צרה היא ליעקב. A lot of frum yidden lost their pensions. המקום ימלא חסרונם.
Its brought down in sanhedrin quoting the nevua of amos “on the 7th ben david will come” rashi expounds there.
My rav did a whole sheet on this.. with the holecaust being gog umagog.. and medinat yisrael being doche the geula..
Yeah i’m a settler but there arent many tziyonim in chevron 😉
There is great meaning in the fact that the Bear fell before Purim. Chazal say that Modai, the kingdom of Achashverosh, is compared to a Bear. This hints at Haman’s fall on Purim. Hopefully, the Jews will again take ownership of the house of the Bear – Haman’s palace.