The Fed and Bear Stearns

Bernanke Defends Fed's Rescue of Bear Stearns

April 4, 2008 • As Congress grilled top financial regulators about whether the rescue of troubled investment bank Bear Stearns will put taxpayer money at risk, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the bailout was necessary to avoid a financial meltdown.

'Marketplace' Report: Bear Stearns

March 24, 2008 • JPMorgan Chase & Co. has upped its offer to buy ailing Bear Stearns Co. to $10 a share. What does this mean for the federal reserve?

JPMorgan Quintuples Buyout Offer for Bear Stearns

March 24, 2008 • JPMorgan Chase & Co. has upped its offer to buy out ailing Bear Stearns Co., offering $10 a share instead of its original offer of $2 for the investment bank collapsed under the weight of bad subprime mortgages. The original Bear takeover agreement was forged with the support of federal regulators.

Rubin to Fed: Examine Roots of Credit Crisis

March 21, 2008 • Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin says policymakers must examine the series of events and regulatory failures that led to the current credit crisis to prevent a reoccurrence.

Bear Stearns' Collapse Ripples to Neighbors, Beyond

March 20, 2008 • The collapse of Bear Stearns, the country's fifth largest investment bank, is big news on Wall Street, but is it also affecting everyday people — the people who work right in Bear Stearns' neighborhood?

Have Fed's Efforts Helped Calm Investors' Worries?

March 20, 2008 • The Federal Reserve and others have been trying to restore confidence on Wall Street. The Bear Stearns collapse is only the latest blow. All of the recent interest rate cuts and other moves were designed in part to bring calm. Bethany McClean of Fortune magazine explains why fear persists despite all those efforts.

Shedding Light on the Latest Fed Rate Cut

March 18, 2008 • The Federal Reserve on Tuesday cut the federal funds rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, less than what many in the financial markets wanted. It was still aggressive by historic standards and underscores the Fed's economic concerns.

Democrats' Advisers Weigh In on Market Turmoil

March 18, 2008 • Should the Federal Reserve and the federal government intervene to bail out companies — such as Bear Stearns — that are in dire economic straits? The chief economic advisers to the Democratic presidential candidates weigh in.

Fed Expected to Cut Another Key Interest Rate

March 18, 2008 • The Federal Reserve meets Tuesday to decide whether to lower a key interest rate. Over the weekend, the central bank approved a cut in its emergency lending rate to financial institutions and became a lender of last resort for investment houses to begin securing short-term emergency loans.

Is the Fed Doing Enough to Help Sagging Economy?

March 18, 2008 • The Federal Reserve swooped in quickly to prevent Wall Street titan Bear Stearns from going bust and triggering a panic on Wall Street. It's not a bailout in the sense of a taxpayer rescue of a corporation. But it is part of a more activist approach to the credit crisis by both the Fed and the Bush administration's economic team.

Investors Eye Wall Street for Other Signs of Trouble

March 18, 2008 • Analysts on Wall Street fear that another big investment bank could be teetering on the edge of disaster. Investors this week will watch closely the earnings of major banks and look for any signs that aggressive moves by the Federal Reserve are bringing stability back to credit markets.

Fed's Moves Highlight Fragile State of Markets

March 17, 2008 • The Federal Reserve takes dramatic measures to reassure the anxious investment community, including negotiating the bargain-basement sale of Bear Stearns. The moves raise questions about how deep the financial industry's woes go — and who else is at risk.

A Brief History of Bear Stearns

March 17, 2008 • The collapse of Bear Stearns caps an astonishing run for the Wall Street giant, which managed to survive the Great Depression and countless recessions. But the current mortgage debacle proved too much.

Fed Intervention Changes the Rules

March 17, 2008 • The Federal Reserve moved quickly this past weekend to prevent a bankruptcy at the investment bank Bear Stearns, but it had to change its rule book in order to do so.

A Close Look at the Fed's Bear Stearns Action

March 17, 2008 • Did the Federal Reserve make the appropriate moves in its unprecedented effort to address the Bearn Stearns crisis? Charles Calomiris, a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, offers his insights.

Fed's Bear Stearns Move Breaks New Ground

March 17, 2008 • The Federal Reserve's decision to extend credit to the ailing investment bank Bear Stearns is an unprecedented move. And the Fed took additional steps to address a crisis of confidence on Wall Street.

'Marketplace' Report: Bailout's Effects on Workers

March 17, 2008 • Bear Stearns traders and dealers have seen the value of their stock share plummet and their futures put in jeopardy. Marketplace's Janet Babin explains that Bear Stearns employees may try to find new jobs, but with a recession looming, it's not going to be easy to find work.

What the Fed Did for Bear Stearns

March 17, 2008 • With a looming recession, the Federal Reserve has taken an unusually active roll in trying to prevent a total collapse. Ken Kuttner, a former Fed staff economist, discusses the role the Fed is playing in the current economic turmoil.

Bailing out Bear Stearns

March 17, 2008 • J.P. Morgan bought its collapsing rival Bear Stearns after the Federal Reserve intervened. The Fed took several unusual moves, including approving the purchase over the weekend instead of waiting until a March 18 scheduled meeting.

Bear Stearns Bought Out by JP Morgan Chase

March 17, 2008 • Bear Stearns, an 85-year-old investment bank, has been purchased by JP Morgan Chase at the rock-bottom price of $2 a share. The Federal Reserve will provide up to $30 billion to JP Morgan Chase to help it finance the purchase. Guests discuss the buy-out deal and what it could mean for small businesses.

Bear Stearns Goes Bust

March 17, 2008 • Bear Stearns used to be a giant in the financial world. Now it's being sold for a fraction of its previous value. Plus, automaker Chrysler announced the closure of all its facilities for two weeks this summer. What does this say about the finance industry and America's economy?

JP Morgan Snaps Up Bear Stearns for $2 a Share

March 17, 2008 • JP Morgan Chase will acquire the troubled investment bank Bear Stearns at the fire-sale price of $2 a share, a deal quickly approved over the weekend by the Federal Reserve, which also approved a cut in its emergency lending rate to financial institutions by a quarter-point to 3.25 percent. The moves stirred fear in foreign markets.