A Fool Looks Back

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Ben Bernanke: Bail Bondsman
The Fed has been busier than your office NCAA tournament pool this week. On Sunday, it helped bail out Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) by guaranteeing $30 billion in questionable loans to facilitate a buyout and avert a bankruptcy.

The Fed also exacted a pair of rate cuts -- an emergency cut on Sunday and a larger move on Tuesday -- to get financial markets moving again.

Poor Bernanke -- he really walked into a hornet's nest. It seems as if half of the country believes he is slashing rates too quickly, while the other half's blaming him for acting too slow. Am I the only one who thinks that he's doing the best he can with the poor economic hand he was dealt?

It's probably too early to start thinking Halloween costumes, but I may as well begin piecing my Bernanke outfit together. No one seems to epitomize "trick or treat" like this guy.

Briefly in the news
Here's a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week:

• Visa (NYSE: V) went public on Wednesday, generating proceeds of nearly $18 billion. If you think that's a lot, think about what it left on the table. The stock was priced at $44, but popped 35% higher to open at $59.50. I wonder if I could have used my credit card to get in on that IPO?
• In news that you just can't make up, Monster.com parent Monster Worldwide (Nasdaq: MNST) announced that operating expenses would come in higher than analysts had expected, partly because of an ongoing restructuring plan that includes workforce reductions. Am I the only one noting the irony of a leading job-hunting site announcing layoffs?
• Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) issued a long-term outlook that calls for operating cash flow to nearly double in three years. The company also expects to grow overall market share in the online ad market -- a particularly bold claim, since its 2008 guidance finds it heading in the opposite direction. That makes it hard to get excited about for 2009 and 2010, especially from a company whose long-term vision has been questionable at best.
• Tempur-Pedic (NYSE: TPX) is in trouble, judging by this week's warning that current-quarter sales will fall by 20% and earnings will plummet 50%. So much for the high-end mattress maker giving its shareholders a good night's sleep.
• BMC Software (NYSE: BMC) is buying Blade Logic (Nasdaq: BLOG), a deal that will make the BLOG ticker symbol available. I'm picturing privately held blogging-software companies like Wordpress and Six Apart getting giddy about going public to snag the ticker symbol.

Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz