Bear Stearns Cos., the U.S. securities firm that posted its first-ever loss last quarter on mortgage writedowns, has more than $1 billion of trades that profit if subprime home loans and bonds continue to deteriorate.
The ``short'' positions on subprime mortgage securities increased from $600 million at the end of November, Chief Financial Officer Sam Molinaro said today at an investor conference in Naples, Florida. The company also reduced its holdings of so-called collateralized debt obligations and underlying bonds, Molinaro said.
The sinking value of assets tied to mortgages led to Bear Stearns's fourth-quarter loss of $854 million, and Molinaro said today that one of the firm's biggest mistakes was ``not being conservative enough and bearish enough on the subprime market.'' The firm has reversed ``long'' subprime trades that stood at $1 billion at the end of August, Molinaro said.
``There's definitely a lot of short plays out there,'' said Mark Adelson, a founding member of Adelson & Jacob Consulting in Long Island City, New York. Some subprime bonds ``could easily be bad enough that they don't pay off a penny,'' said Adelson, a former Nomura Holdings Inc. mortgage analyst.
In an interview after Molinaro's remarks, Bear Stearns spokesman Russell Sherman said the New York-based firm's subprime trades are a ``hedge'' against potential losses on investments in higher-rated mortgages, he said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a.2mZwwn1WtU&refer=home
The ``short'' positions on subprime mortgage securities increased from $600 million at the end of November, Chief Financial Officer Sam Molinaro said today at an investor conference in Naples, Florida. The company also reduced its holdings of so-called collateralized debt obligations and underlying bonds, Molinaro said.
The sinking value of assets tied to mortgages led to Bear Stearns's fourth-quarter loss of $854 million, and Molinaro said today that one of the firm's biggest mistakes was ``not being conservative enough and bearish enough on the subprime market.'' The firm has reversed ``long'' subprime trades that stood at $1 billion at the end of August, Molinaro said.
``There's definitely a lot of short plays out there,'' said Mark Adelson, a founding member of Adelson & Jacob Consulting in Long Island City, New York. Some subprime bonds ``could easily be bad enough that they don't pay off a penny,'' said Adelson, a former Nomura Holdings Inc. mortgage analyst.
In an interview after Molinaro's remarks, Bear Stearns spokesman Russell Sherman said the New York-based firm's subprime trades are a ``hedge'' against potential losses on investments in higher-rated mortgages, he said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a.2mZwwn1WtU&refer=home