No, not da bear market… da Bear Stearns (BSC). Yesterday was one heckuva swing in the mid-tier broker. With a daily low of $55.42, and a daily high of $68.24, that is a whopping 23% move from peak to trough (and back, mostly) in one day. Here is a 1-day chart:

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Even more amazing, rumors abound regarding the broker. Today there is a rumor going around that the Fed acted to keep Bear Stearns (BSC) from going under. Yesterday it was that Bear was at risk of bankruptcy, accompanied with a high volume of put action.

If the Fed did consider Bear’s position with yesterday’s TSLC announcement, I only have one thing to say… Counterparty risk is a bitch during a deleveraging cycle.