What a difference a day makes at Bear Stearns

Yesterday: Bear Stearns President and Chief Executive Alan Schwartz begged to differ with Wall Street. “There is absolutely no truth to the rumors of liquidity problems.”

Today: “Bear Stearns has been the subject of a multitude of market rumors regarding our liquidity,” Bear Stearns president and chief executive, Alan Schwartz, said in a statement. “Amidst this market chatter, our liquidity position in the last 24 hours had significantly deteriorated.”

I guess that’s not necessarily a contradiction. Where was George Bailey from the Bailey Building and Loan to help out and calm down the townspeople? Alan must have had one hell of a night!

GEORGE
No, but you . . . you . . . you’re thinking of this place all wrong. As if I had the money back in a safe. The money’s not here. Your money’s in Joe’s house . . . right next to yours. And in the Kennedy house, and Mrs. Macklin’s house, and a hundred others. Why, you’re lending them the money to build, and then, they’re going to pay it back to you as best they can. Now what are you going to do? Foreclose on them?

Yup!