Urgently moving to contain a deepening credit crisis, the Federal Reserve is trying to restore confidence in panicked financial markets by becoming a lender of last resort for Wall Street investment houses that on Monday can begin securing short-term emergency loans.

It’s being reported by CNBC that JPMorgan has offered to buy Bear Stearns at $15-$20 per share. Currently, Bear Stearns’ management is meeting to consider the sale of their company. If BSC doesn’t accept, could we see them go bankrupt?

The federal government and JPMorgan Chase & Co. teamed up on a bailout of Bear Stearns Cos. on Friday, a last-ditch move to save the investment bank, which acknowledged its dire financial straits after a week of firm denials.

Bear Stearns lost half of its value within 30 minutes of the market open.