Thursday, March 27, 2008

Le Shorter: Adding Insult to Injury

After finagling a bailout of his insolvent investment bank at taxpayer expense, Bear Sterns CEO James Cayne sold his shares for $10.84 each, a total of $61.3 million, ahead of the company's expected purchase by JP Morgan. Bear Sterns was scrutinized by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morganthau because of the firm's well known penchant for pushing the limits of legality. The profits generated from Bear's lucrative trade in mortage backed securities allowed Cayne to buy a $28 million mansion. Now that is what I call a tax rebate!