Bear Stearns will be consigned to history later today, as shareholders vote for the bank to become part of JPMorgan Chase. 85 years of a generally proud past, then, has ended with a wimper, with both shareholders and many employees losing much of their net worth and jobs.

According to Crain's, the Bear name won't last long. 'The name generally will go away', said one JPMorgan 'insider'. 'What kind of brand value does Bear Stearns have at this point anyway ?'. The name on the firm's Madison Avenue HQ building will also come down, but JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is believed to have insisted on a few weeks delay, as he doesn't wish to further alienate the lucky Bear staff who are being transitioned across to his now enlarged empire.

And Reuters reports that former Bear CEO 'Ace' Greenberg has now sold his last remaining shares in the firm. He ditched his remaining block of 15,000 shares a few days back. Greenberg has been with the firm since 1949, and is staying on as Chairman Emeritus with JPMorgan.

Finally, Dealbreaker reports that artist Geoffrey Raymond has been outside Madison Avenue with his latest piece of pop art. 'The Annotated Bear' (pictured above to the right) is a portrait of Jim Cayne, the last person to simultaneously hold the title of Bear Chairman and CEO. Raymond has been asking passers-by, Bear staff included, to sign his work of art.

http://yearofmagicalpainting.blogspot.com/

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