Decision Puttospeed

Speed deal put to Speed on March 16, 2008. JP Morgan Chase will acquire Bear Stearns, Investment banker since 85 years, at $2 a share, less than one-tenth of firm’s market price ($27, March 14) to approximate $270 million in stock for firm. Sale price includes Bear Stearns’s Madison Avenue headquarters. A year ago, its shares sold for $170 and incurred big losses on investments linked to mortgages.