One of the biggest financial names reporting earnings is Bear Stearns (BSC: sentiment, chart, options) . The firm announced that first-quarter net income plummeted to $115 million, or 86 cents per share, from $554 million, or $3.82 per share, a year ago. Meanwhile, revenue dropped 28.5% to $3.43 billion. Analysts had forecast a profit of 87 cents on revenue of $1.37 billion. Of course, much of this information may prove to be largely moot to investors, as the company is slated to be acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) for $10 per share (pending shareholder approval).

However, BSC had some other news for the Street. The company revealed that it received a notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that civil charges could be in the offing for anticompetitive practices in its bidding for municipal securities. Bear said that in February it received a Wells Notice, or a warning from the SEC that civil charges might be coming, "in connection with the bidding for various financial instruments associated with municipal securities." The notice comes in connection with a probe the SEC and the Justice Department are directing on the conduct of Wall Street firms that packaged and sold municipal derivatives (securities based on underlying assets such as city bonds) beginning in 1990.

Furthermore, the Federal Trade Commission has said it believes BSC and its EMC Mortgage Corp. mortgage-servicing unit have violated federal consumer-protection statutes.

In early trading, the shares of BSC are down 0.4%, but not surprisingly, are hovering close to the $10 level.

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