We're just two ships passing in the night (again)

Goldman Sachs Group, which avoided much of the subprime mortgage morass and posted record profits in 2007, is now looking for opportunities to scoop up securities backed by subprime loans, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

Bear Stearns Cos., which posted an $854 million fourth quarter loss thanks to $1.9 billion in mortgage write downs, now has $1 billion in short positions on subprime mortgage securities, Bloomberg says.

Who says bears don't travel in herds?

Here's Bloomberg quoting financial consultant Mark Adelson:

Adelson said he would pay more attention to Bear Stearns's strategy shift if it were coming from Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett.

"I think of Warren Buffett as a guy who's almost always right, and at this stage of the game I don't think of Bear that way," Adelson said.

Ouch.

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