Bear Stearns' Cayne Goes AWOL

S&P's downgrade of the firm must have struck Cayne & Co. as the final public relations strike. Top brass then hit the phones in the hopes of quelling investor fears.

But after Cayne's disappearing act, it's hard to say how the conference call could have done anything to settle jittery investors. Bear's shares have descended from around $170 six months ago to $108 at the end of Friday trading.

Bear isn't alone on Wall Street, where all the big banks have been getting hit hard. Lehman Brothers (LEH) dropped even more than Bear on Friday, plunging 8%.

But fixed income and mortgage securities are the center of this crisis, and they're Bear's wheelhouse. So investors could be forgiven for expecting a bit more guidance, and at the very least some more attentiveness, from Cayne -- who is one of the firm's biggest shareholders.

Where Cayne ran off to is anyone's guess, as Bear didn't return a call seeking comment.

We can only hope he didn't ditch the call for a no-trump hand of bridge with Bear Stearns president Warren Spector.

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