Bear Stearns: What’s he smoking?

Jimmy Cayne didn’t attend the conference call to discuss Bear Stearns’ first quarterly loss in its 84-year history. It’s true the 73-year-old usually leaves it to his chief financial officer and that his minimal contribution to a call in the summer got him into hot water. But still, you’d think the circumstances might have merited a show of contrition. Maybe Cayne thinks there are enough positives to keep investors and employees happy. The finance chief, Sam Molinaro, pointed to record annual p...