Naked Capitalism details the multiple reasons for the collapse, the precipitating event being rumors of financial problems at Bear caused massive withdrawals of cash by hedge funds and other institutions.
Did others deliberately push Bear and that Carlyle hedge fund off a cliff?
An awful conspiracy theory presents itself: were Bear’s creditors trying to deliberately hasten its demise (a la Carlyle) before Bear could take advantage of the TSLF [the Fed $200bn of liquidity that starts on the 27th], so they could grab Bear’s collateral and turn it into desperately needed liquidity for themselves?
AC DC – Dog Eat Dog