Bear Stearns Woes

Bear Stearns will take a $1.2 billion write-down in the fourth quarter related to weakness in its credit portfolios, CFO Samuel Molinaro said today, adding that the worst of its mortgage write-downs are behind it. Molinaro said the $1.2 billion write-down will lead the company to post a loss during its fiscal fourth quarter, which ends Nov. 30.