TIMELINE: A dozen key dates in the demise of Bear Stearns

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The following are a dozen important dates or events in the demise of Bear Stearns.

1) December 14, 2006 - Bear Stearns posts record earnings, touting huge profit gains from then-booming businesses advising on mergers and arranging credit derivative, distressed debt and leveraged finance deals.

Bear stock closes at $159.96. The average price target from Wall Street research analysts covering the stock, according to Reuters Estimates, is $166.24.

2) January 12, 2007 - Bear shares close at a record $171.51 on momentum from its strong earnings report the previous month. The average price target: $174.

3) May 24, 2007 - Bear shares close at $147.55, a six-week low, after Goldman Sachs slashed its quarterly earnings target for the rival investment bank, citing concern about Bear's heavy exposure to the mortgage securitization business. The average price target: $181.73.

4) June 14, 15 & 16, 2007 - On June 14, Bear reports earnings declined for the first time in four quarters on weaker results from its mortgage securities business. On June 15, The Wall Street Journal reports a hedge fund run by Bear has suffered big losses on soured subprime mortgage investments. (A second fund with similar troubles would soon emerge.) The next day, the 16th, the Journal reports that Merrill Lynch, a creditor to the fund, seized some of its assets. The stock closes at $150.09 on Friday, June 15. The average target price:

$181.

5) July 17, 2007 - As losses from subprime mortgages begin to threaten credit markets around the world, Bear Stearns informs investors in its two struggling hedge funds that the funds have "very little value" remaining. Bear shares end the day at $139.91. The average target price: $178.23.

6) August 5, 2007 - Warren Spector resigns under pressure as co-president and co-chief operating officer of Bear, having lost the confidence of long-time CEO James Cayne for his handling of the subprime mortgage crisis. The stock closes at $113.81 on Monday August 6. The average target price: $164.29.