SEC Eyes Recent Comments by Bear Stearns

Irving Pollack, a former enforcement director at the SEC, suggested that the dramatic whirlwind rescue of Bear Stearns may be a mitigating factor in a decision on whether to take enforcement action. The firm's stock dropped so rapidly in a short period of time that the circumstances, and the public disclosures made by executives, "will take time to unravel," said Pollack, who is an attorney at Fulbright & Jaworski.