Reply #1: The CNBC types are saying it's unfair to charge JP Morgan for the sins of Bear Stearns.

[No Elephants]

JP Morgan took over the assets of Bear Stearns knowing what the liabilities might be.

This is an old, old legal doctrine of successor liability.

My own experience: I had bought something from Bear Stearns for my retirement plan. At the time I purchased, there was no fee. At some point, Bear Stearns notified me of an annual fee that would be deducted when the bond matured. Fine.

The thing got transferred to JP Morgan, which then sent me a bill for the entire amount, including the several years before Bear Stearns even announced it was charging a fee.

I was very sick at the time and could not be bothered fighting it, but it was hundreds of dollars for which JPM had done nothing, and that was contrary to anything that I had agreed to with Bear Stearns, both as to number of years for which the fee would be charges and as to when and how the amount would be paid. And, I'm only one person.

So, do I feel bad that JPM got hit with something it knew it was going to get hit with when it took over Bear Stearns? In an amount substantially less than the amount that JPM had set aside for the purpose?

No, I'm mad they got off easier than they thought they would.