Seeking Alpha

Buying Bear's HQ 6 comments

by: Barry Ritholtz March 16, 2008 | about: BSC    
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During Friday's live blogging of the Bear Stearns (BSC) collapse, I casually mentioned their HQ. In the heat of the moment, I said something snarky and rather sarcastic:

10:56: My office is 2 blocks from Bear's HQ. I should walk over and make a bid for their building, which is really nice.

That's the beauty of the internet -- you never know where whatever it is you are saying might get picked up and reproduced. To wit: Marketwatch:

I walk by their building just about every day -- and it is really nice. But, truth be told, I was joking -- we simply do not need all that much space...

6
Comments on this article
  •  
    That's a funny joke. As people are losing their jobs and homes, I am sure your commedy is really appreciated.
    2008 Mar 16 10:04 AM Reply
  •  
    Like a Russian general pinning another metal to his jacket.

    A least if Barry did buy the building he would be putting American dollars back to work in the United States.

    It's time to buy America!!!
    2008 Mar 16 01:09 PM Reply
  •  
    A must read it was published today:

    "Bear Stearns Bailout Was `Finger in the Dike,' Historians Say
    By Elliot Blair Smith" Bloomberg.com

    It points out how every single Fed or Treasury intervention has worked going back to 1914. We have one hell of a brilliant system. Never, ever, sell America short.
    2008 Mar 16 02:13 PM Reply
  •  
    Selling markets short isn't selling America short. It's speculating, and perfectly American to do so.

    Soprano, there is more to investing than just buying and holding. Sometimes, to actually make a profit, you have to take it, otherwise, the gains are just on paper, leaving you holding the hot potato.

    Give credit where credit is due - this isn't the first day that Barry has written about the credit crisis. Those of us who were given brains and ears by God listened and saw the truth. Some went short, some went to cash.

    Those without ears and brains stayed long, and are hurting. Now, buy and hold just doesn't work. Sometimes, it's most logical to sell short. Logic is what it is. The truth is what it is.

    America will make it out of this, but there is more selling to be done before this is over, and no amount of bleating patriotically (and yes I am a patriot) isn't going to change that.

    If you want to find those who aren't patriots, look at those who have destroyed our financial system, like Bear Stearns. They are the ones who sold your precious dollar down 20% so far in a year, and more to come.

    You can thank Bear Stearns, and all others involved in the credit crunch/mortgage crisis/etc for selling America short. Don't blame us if we can see the market going down and decide to trade based on that.

    Good luck Soprano. Cash just isn't a bad idea right now. Opportunities for shorts and longs will show themselves if you have eyes to see, ears to listen...etc.
    2008 Mar 17 05:46 AM Reply
  •  
    America isn't stocks. America isn't a company. America isn't the stock market, and America isn't the bond market. Markets are markets. They go up and down.
    2008 Mar 17 05:48 AM Reply
  •  
    It isn't unethical to short sell. It is actually an important part of the ongoing price discovery process of the markets. Selling corporations short which are staffed by criminals is ethical. It is also risky.
    2008 Mar 17 05:53 AM Reply