Yvette Kantrow, over at TheDeal (via TalkingBizNews)takes a look at the media's reaction to the Bear Stearns meltdown. Not surprisingly, the chorus of player-haters is singing in unison. Bear is bad. Bear is bad.
Now I don't particularly begrudge any reporter for using the knives that they've been keeping sharp. That's what they do. But the fact that so few seem capable of a contrarian thought -- that perhaps the Bear Stearns management wasn't incompetent or evil -- is surprising.
It might have to do with intelligence.
This is not to say that other reporters are dumb, but it's difficult to come up with contrarian arguments at certain times. Convincingly arguing that Bear Stearns management weren't/aren't total maroons isn't an easy task at this point. And of course, simply stating the facts doesn't work either, because there's no upside to it. I made a point earlier about the alleged over-bearishness of some financial bloggers (bearishness, it's worth adding, that may be totally warranted).
Meanwhile, for what it's worth, it's hard to imagine this situation not leading to criminal complaints. I'm not sure who/what yet, but when there's a crash of these sorts, there's often an innocent until proven guilty mindset that takes hold. And since I don't see how Bear's top brass could prove that they were totally innocent of the charge of misleading shareholders, then that's trouble.
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