playing catch up...

because I didn't have my option account funded until today. I could have been all over this Bear Stearns (BSC) subprime hedge fund liquidation scare since last Thursday. Oh, well. I've got to be patient and not hurt myself trying to jump onto a moving train. This weekend will be pivotal.

Jim Cramer says that this scare is overblown because it's different from the subprime scare in February. This is a "liquidity" crisis, not a "credit" crisis. New Century went bankrupt because their loans went bad, and subsequently their funding was cut off. The other firms are purposely trying to squeeze BSC. In this case, Cramer says the margin call came as a result of too many redemptions, not defaults on CDO assets. Fair enough. I have one question for Cramer, though. "Do you think redemptions from other funds will increase this week?" While he is right that a bailout is more easily worked out in this situation, there are oodles of boodle to be made by shaking the tree for many funds that are short. The big firms might lose their grip and scare everyone too much. This weekend is pivotal.