Jury barred from reading fund manager's e-mails

NEW YORK: Former Bear Stearns hedge fund manager Matthew Tannin won a round during his trial in New York on fraud charges when a judge ruled the jury cannot see a personal e-mail in which he wrote about his fears of a "blow up risk" for investors.

E-mails written by Tannin and his former boss at Bear Stearns Asset Management, Ralph Cioffi, are central to the prosecution's case against the two men - the first high-profile Wall Streeters to be criminally charged stemming from problems with subprime mortgages and overall liquidity.

Bear Stearns Cos was taken over in 2008 by JPMorgan Chase & Co in a government-backed deal for far less than it was once worth.