“Bear Stearns Cos., a powerhouse on Wall Street for nearly nine decades, ceased to exist Thursday in a meeting that lasted about 11 minutes.
“Gathered in a crowded second-floor auditorium of Bear's Madison Avenue headquarters, several hundred stockholders voted to approve their company's sale to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. for $1.4 billion. In doing so, they sealed a deal made in haste two months ago amid one of the most terrifying bank runs in history.
“The meeting was led by Chairman James Cayne, 74 years old, who ran Bear Stearns as chief executive for 14 years before stepping down in January. Mr. Cayne, a tough-talking former broker, has operated largely below the radar since the leadership transition.
“As the votes were counted, Mr. Cayne made his first public comments in months, expressing for the first time his own sadness at the shocking turn of events. ‘I personally apologize,’ he said, according to attendees, fiddling with the microphone as he spoke. ‘Words can't describe the feelings that I feel.’
“Mr. Cayne said Bear ran into ‘a hurricane’ and summed up his feelings on the firm's demise as ‘remorse’ as opposed to ‘anger.’
“Moments later, the deal was approved -- by holders of 84% of Bear Stearns's stock. No questions were asked.
“In early 2007, before the rout, Bear's market capitalization was $25 billion.”
(“The Fall of Bear Stearns: Bear's Final Moment: An Apology And No Lack of Ire.” Kate Kelly, Mike Spector and Randall Smith. Wall Street Journal: May 30, 2008. pg. C.1)
EVEN IN THE FACE OF hurricane winds that we cannot control, and that are well beyond our power to cope, own up, take responsibility, feel bad, apologize.
The terror is in the dodge, not in facing the storm.
"Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
"It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls..."
(Dylan)
Hurricane Terror
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
"Creative destruction" is the phrase many of us learned about the dynamics in an open economy. I know the nature of it and the net benefit. 10% of all jobs cease to exit in a given year, but more than 10% are also created. More importantly the latter is possibel because of the former.
Still, the thing about destruction is even when we know that it is necessary or dare I say even beneficial it is sometimes hard to watch. My 6 year old seems to understand the nature of things better than me as she often reminds me when I comment on the sadness of whatever just got eaten on the latest nature show she's watching.
The other thing about destruction is that it can be hard to tell natural destruction from something artificial. I've been to Mount Saint Helens and it is truly frightening. I'm told the closest thing is desert nuclear test sites.
I'll not mourn the passing of BairStearns, but it does leave me a little unnerved. Was this the natural order of things? Have we meddled in that order? Are we risking the creative to limit the destruction? Will I even remember in another five years?
Post a Comment