Bear Stearns has been in the news lately but not all the attention is welcome. Every time one of its competitors ties the knot, the rumour mill starts churning out a litany of potential suitors for the US-based firm. Lehman Brothers is mooted in the press to be its latest possible partner.

Naturally, Roger Hirst, head of European equity research, will not comment except to say that the firm remains intent on building a larger European presence, but has no desire to belong to the same club as Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.