U.S. stocks started the fourth quarter on a positive note, with the Dow
In stock-specific news, JPMorgan Chase's
Did Bear Stearns mis-sell the securities? Almost certainly -- whether intentionally or otherwise. Should investors who bought the securities have known better? Given where home prices were by 2006, definitely. Peak-to-trough from June 2006 through March 2011, the Shiller-Case national home price index fell by a third; by that measure, the investors who bought the mortgage bonds in question from Bear fared better than expected. Either way, using $22.5 billion as a basis for calculating potential damages, you're going to come up with a big number. That's not good news for JPMorgan -- expect the shares to continue to come under pressure tomorrow. That the housing/ credit bubble should come back to haunt JPMorgan at this stage illustrates why The Motley Fool's top banking analyst believes The Only Big Bank Built to Lastis another institution; to find out which bank deserves that title, request our free report today.