A jury took about seven hours to clear Matthew Tannin (l) and Ralph Cioffi Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers charged with fraud have been found not guilty by a New York jury.Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin were cleared of charges including securities fraud and conspiracy charges relating to the collapse of two hedge funds. Prosecutors had argued the two managers lied to clients to protect bonuses when their funds were losing money. The hedge funds bet on the high-risk sub-prime mortgage market in the US before they crumbled in June 2007. The collapse cost investors in the funds about $1.6bn (£0.95bn). E-mail exchangesTheir closure was one of the first signs of the problems in the sub-prime market, which triggered a massive loss of confidence in financial markets. Bear Stearns was a high-profile victim of the credit crunch In March last year, Bear Stearns became one of the most high-profile victims of the credit crunch, after American banking giant JP Morgan agreed to buy it with the backing of the US Federal Reserve.[Read more...]