Photograph of Bear Stearns' headquarters (center) and JP Morgan (right) by Mark Lennihan/AP With JP Morgan now offering $1.2 billion for troubled Bear Stearns, it's expected the deal will close on April 8. JP Morgan needed 50% of Bear Stearns shareholder approval, and the new $10/share price would give them 45% yes votes (5% is expected from bondholders); an analyst told USA Today the revised deal "virtually guarantees a yes vote at $10 per......

Photograph of Bear Stearns by Mark Lennihan/AP The NY Times reports "JPMorgan Chase was in talks on Sunday night for a deal that would quintuple its offer for Bear Stearns...in an effort to pacify angry Bear shareholders." Over a week ago, JP Morgan had agreed to pay $2/share for Bear Stearns stock, for a total payout of $236 million, but the new talks would raise the price to $10/share, making it a billion-dollar deal.......

Although the stock markets didn't tank yesterday (the Dow was up 21 points), it was a volatile day as Wall Street reacted to the bargain basement sale of Bear Stearns to JP Morgan. Naturally, this means the first lawsuit has been filed on behalf of shareholders who claim the investment bank "made false statement about the firm's financial condition." The employees are feeling the brunt of the pain: Besides their Bear Stearns stock plummeting in......

Photograph of newspaper distributor in London by Sang Tan/AP This is going to be a tough morning on Wall Street. World financial markets fell and are falling after yesterday's news that JP Morgan had purchased Bear Stearns for $2 a share, a grand price of $236 million for a company valued at $3.54 billion on Friday. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell 3.7%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 5.25%. Currnetly, London's FTSE 100 has......

The Federal Reserve's interest rate cut helped the stave off a huge drop the stock market yesterday. Though the Dow Jones did fall 465 points at one point, it ended 128 points down. Another feature of the rate cut: Home loan applications jumped. The global markets had tumbled on Monday (during the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday) because of U.S. recession fears, but Asian markets gained a little today after news of the......

The U.S. financial markets may have been closed due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance, but stock markets around the world tumbled as worries over the U.S. economy took hold. Johan Stein, who manages about $14 billion at an asset management firm in Stockholm told Bloomberg, "It's the worst I've ever seen. The financial system is in terrible shape, and no one knows where this will end.'' Many investors are doubtful that President......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: shots fired on 103rd Rd. in Queens, a double stabbing on Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan, and an armed robbery on 94th St. in Queens. Get paranoid!: Not only is your nanny not nurturing your kid to the best of his or her abilities, she's probably beating her mercilessly. Not really, most babysitters love your kids and take good care of them. Set your watch by it: the Williambsurg Savings......

U.S. stock markets have not fared well in just the first dozen days of 2008, as indices are being dragged down by worries about the continuing subprime loan meltdown and the after-effects that a tightening in capital lending could have on the economy. According to The New York Times, Friday was just the worst of a bad stretch across the boards: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 246 points, or 1.9%, and is down 5%......

Today is Columbus Day, which means that your employer is probably not giving you the day off (according to the Society for Human Resources Management) but many government offices and schools are closed. The stock market is open, some banks are closed while others are open, and alternate side of the street parking is suspended. Here's a list of closures, but this sort-of-holiday is confusing. And, of course, there is steady opposition to Columbus Day......

After a week in which the stock market reeled wildly due to concerns about the potential impact a collapse in mortgage debt could have on the economy, The New York Times examines the city's housing market and it's apparent imperviousness to downturn. The paper describes how despite a slump that was more of a pause in the second half of 2006, real estate sales and development continue to surge to this day, with property......

With the economy acting as though it's on a roller coaster given concerns about credit and mortgage markets, NYC real estate brokers are feeling the pains. Some potential buyers who would have qualified before issues with the mortgage markets now find themselves struggling to get the loans they need and being asked to put more of their money down. However, we will say it's hard to be sympathetic to someone looking for a $3.3......

Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 300 points by mid-day as worldwide financial markets worry about the U.S. credit market. The Dow Jones, as well as the Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq, have lost 10% since July, and a strategist at Absolute Strategy Research tells the Times, "The psychology is shifting notably today. When a market drops by 10 percent, people start to feel it in their portfolios. People are used to......

When you visit Tao Lin's Reader of Depressing Books , you really get to know Tao Lin, which makes reading his debut novel, Eeeee Eee Eeee, a much more interesting affair because it goes from being a novel written by some guy to being a novel written by someone you know. And in this interview you'll get to know a little more about Tao Lin, and then you can read Tao's thoughtful and interesting post......

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A serious MVA on the upper level of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, a suspicious package in Manhattan, and an overturned auto in Queens The things we learn as the Daily Intelligencer questions disclosure on Gawker... then FishbowlNY discloses some stuff about itself and Daily Intel Newly elected City Council members Mathieu Eugene and Vincent Ignizio are still not sworn in The stock market gained 0.4% today Do students really......

Yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 416 points (a significant 3.3% drop) after a plunge in Shanghai's stock market. Well, now the Asian stock markets have fallen again, because investors are worried about the American economy! The NY Times reports that share prices rebounded in China, rising "nearly 4 percent today after state-controlled media reported that the government might allow greater foreign investment in Chinese stocks and would not impose capital gains taxes on......

Today is Columbus Day, and since it's a federal, state and local holiday, there are many closings. Public schools and public offices are closed. There is no mail delivery, but the James Farley Post Office at Eighth Avenue and West 33rd Street is open. There's no garbage or recycling pick up or street cleaning. Things that are open: The stock market and many offices (based on the grumblings we've heard). The Parade will start at......

We're so confused by all the stories on the city's housing market. AP: Manhattan Residential Market Cools Daily News: Manhattan apartment prices slip in latest quarters - But numbers up 12% from '05 NY Post: NY CRA$H PADS - MANHATTAN APT. PRICES PLUNGING USA TODAY: Manhattan: Except for 'very high-end' housing, 'market is quiet' NY Times: Buying in Manhattan? Apartment Prices Steady It seems that prices are dropping, apartments aren't being snapped up as quickly,......

- If you hear loud noises, see flashes of light or a lot of emergency vehicles in Queens on Sunday don't panic, the City is just testing terror responses. - So this drunk 18-year-old from Queens trespasses onto train tracks with his friends and tries to outrun the 7 train. He falls and his legs are amputated at the knee. And then he gets $1.4 million dollars? Huh? - Clarence Norman was acquitted of......

Here comes another new can-be-used-for-weather gadget for the style and design conscious (or color happy). Thanks to Engadget we learned that Violet has a new lamp named Dal, and describes it as "The first living, intelligent and connected lamp". Okay... kind of a creepy (and nerdy) description in our opinion. It bears a striking resemblance to the Ambient Orb and Weather Beacon and is similar in functionality as well. But it doesn't seem quite as......

While the true weather geek will have their own weather station (though our old landlord would likely have a seizure if we tried to mount anything on the precious building), there is an alternative for those who are more commitment phobic to the science. If you're just a regular geek, Ambient Devices has a product called the Ambient Weather Beacon. Basically it's a light that changes colors based on what the weather is. The device......

New York Stock Exchange chairman Richard Grasso, after weeks of controversy, resigned yesterday over his $139.5 million payout last year. Grasso, who worked his way from a lowly position to the chairmanship over 36 years, was generally considered an excellent manager. He also brought the tradition of celebrities ringing the opening bell to the trading floor, which injected "glamor" into the gritty trading floor. Though he was a public face of capitalism and was......

It heartened Gothamist to see the list of charities that Mayor Bloomberg donates to throughout the year. The Times reported that while his personal wealth decreased (the stock market) last year, he contributed more to "scores of cultural, educational and religious institutions." Well, he is the 29th richest American. Bloomberg donated to Thirteen-WNET, the local PBS station, this past year, which made us like him a little more. We hope that Claire Dederer's feature on......

It might be the end of the world, but the stock market gained because we're closer to war. One anlalyst said, "There are a lot of people who have been doing absolutely nothing [in the past weeks and months]...This is an excuse for people to do something." More from CNN and MSNBC.......