Tuesday and Wednesday were the last days Bear Stearns staff had to acquire 'some of the great Bear Stearns logo items that remain(ed) in the inventory'. Not all staff may have a job (or much in the way of net worth if they held too many shares in the company when it went fell to JPMorgan), but at least they could acquire a Bear 'hat, fleece, umbrella, duffel bag, teddy bear, etc' for their troubles.

And, no, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon hasn't offered the items up for free - Bear staff have had to pay for them. And in cash too! (Unemployed bankers, it seems, aren't a good credit risk these days).

There's no truth in the rumour that the inventory sale ended up surpassing the total JPMorgan will actually pay to acquire Bear ($1.2bn), although it is thought to have been close. Those staff hoping to bag a few of former CEO Jimmy Cayne's golf balls will have been disappointed - they are all thought to be in the water at the Hollywood Golf Club (together, apparently, with his clubs).

Finally, local residents over in Greenwich, Connecticut, the hedge-fund capital of the US, are up in arms about plans for the construction of a mansion being built by Russian millionaire Valery Kogan, chairman of East Line Group. The 54,000 square-foot monstrosity will apparently have 26 toilets! The news agency quotes one irate local who said: 'It looks like they want to duplicate the Winter Palace here in Greenwich. It'll be an eyesore'.

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