Best Business Commentary

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is “rolling over the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve,” said The Wall Street Journal in an editorial, and it’s “getting to be embarrassing.” Dimon choked, said David Weidner in MarketWatch, and raising his bid for Bear Stearns wa

Bear Stearns takeover, Round 2

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is “rolling over the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve,” said The Wall Street Journal in an editorial, and his success is “getting to be embarrassing.” When he agreed to buy Bear Stearns at $2 a share, if the Fed guaranteed $30 billion in “troubled” Bear securities, the deal at least had the “virtue” of relaying the “bracing” message that “bad things happen to reckless investors.” Now that JPMorgan’s paying $10 a share, Dimon gets his deal, Bear shareholders get more money, and “taxpayers are still on the hook for $29 billion.” Dimon is “a tough customer,” but it would be nice if “our public officials” were anywhere near as “stalwart” at defending our interests.

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