Title of Each Class of Securities Offered
 
Maximum Aggregate Offering Price
 
Amount of Registration Fee(1)
Medium-Term Notes, Series B
 
$7,600,000
 
$233.32
(1)  Calculated in accordance with Rule 457(r) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The filing fee of $233.32 is being paid in connection with the registration of these Medium Term Notes.

PRICING SUPPLEMENT NO. 21
Rule 424(b)(2)
DATED: December 3, 20071
File No. 333-136666
(To Prospectus dated August 16, 2006,  
and Prospectus Supplement dated August 16, 2006)  
 
THE BEAR STEARNS COMPANIES INC.
Medium-Term Notes, Series B
 
Principal Amount: $7,600,0002
Floating Rate Notes [   ]
Book Entry Notes  [ x ]
     
Original Issue Date: 11/13/2007
Fixed Rate Notes [ x ]
Certificated Notes [   ]
     
Maturity Date: 11/13/2012
CUSIP#: 073928Y98
  
     
Option to Extend Maturity:
No   [ x ]
Yes  [    ]     Final Maturity Date:
 
 
 
Redeemable On
 
Redemption
   Price(s)   
Optional
Repayment
   Date(s)   
Optional
Repayment
   Price(s)   
       
November 13, 2008, and on each Interest Payment Date thereafter, the issuer has the right to redeem the Notes in whole, but not in part, upon five (5) Business Days prior written notice.
100%
N/A
N/A
 
Applicable Only to Fixed Rate Notes:
 
Interest Rate:
6.000%
Interest Payment Dates:
Quarterly, on the 3rd day of each February, May, August and November up to and including the Maturity Date, subject to earlier redemption.
 
Applicable Only to Floating Rate Notes:
 
Interest Rate Basis:
Maximum Interest Rate:
   
[   ]  Commercial Paper Rate
Minimum Interest Rate:
   
[   ]  Federal Funds Effective Rate
  
   
[   ]  Federal Funds Open Rate
Interest Reset Date(s):
 
1   $500,000 of the Notes traded on October 31, 2007.
 $5,000,000 of the Notes traded on November 1, 2007.
 $600,000 of the Notes traded on November 2, 2007.
 $1,500,000 of the Notes traded on November 7, 2007.
 
2   The issue price to the public for this offering is 100.00% of the principal amount of the Notes. The weighted average net proceeds to The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. is 99.4260%.
 
 
[   ]  Treasury Rate
Interest Reset Period:
   
[   ]  LIBOR Rate
Interest Payment Date(s):
   
[   ]  Prime Rate
  
   
[   ]  CMT Rate
  
   
Initial Interest Rate:
Interest Payment Period:
   
Index Maturity:
  
   
Spread (plus or minus):
  
 
The distribution of Notes will conform to the requirements set forth in Rule 2720 of the NASD Conduct Rules.
 
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CERTAIN ERISA CONSIDERATIONS
 
Section 4975 of the Code prohibits the borrowing of money, the sale of property and certain other transactions involving the assets of plans that are qualified under the Code ("Qualified Plans") or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs") and persons who have certain specified relationships to them. Section 406 of ERISA prohibits similar transactions involving employee benefit plans that are subject to ERISA ("ERISA Plans"). Qualified Plans, IRAs and ERISA Plans are referred to as "Plans."
 
Persons who have such specified relationships are referred to as "parties in interest" under ERISA and as "disqualified persons" under the Code. "Parties in interest" and "disqualified persons" encompass a wide range of persons, including any fiduciary (for example, an investment manager, trustee or custodian) of a Plan, any person providing services (for example, a broker) to a Plan, the Plan sponsor, an employee organization any of whose members are covered by the Plan, and certain persons related to or affiliated with any of the foregoing.
 
The purchase and/or holding of Notes by a Plan with respect to which we, Bear Stearns and/or certain of our affiliates is a fiduciary and/or a service provider (or otherwise is a "party in interest" or "disqualified person") would constitute or result in a prohibited transaction under Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, unless such the Notes are acquired or held pursuant to and in accordance with an applicable statutory or administrative exemption. Each of us, Bear Stearns and Bear Stearns Securities Corp. is considered a "disqualified person" under the Code or a "party in interest" under ERISA with respect to many Plans, although neither we nor Bear Stearns can be a "party in interest" to any IRA other than certain employer-sponsored IRAs, as only employer-sponsored IRAs are covered by ERISA.
 
Applicable administrative exemptions may include certain prohibited transaction class exemptions (for example, Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption ("PTCE") 84-14 relating to qualified professional asset managers, PTCE 96-23 relating to certain in-house asset managers, PTCE 91-38 relating to bank collective investment funds, PTCE 90-1 relating to insurance company separate accounts and PTCE 95-60 relating to insurance company general accounts).
 
It should also be noted that the Pension Protection Act of 2006 contains a statutory exemption from the prohibited transaction provisions of Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code for transactions involving certain parties in interest or disqualified persons who are such merely because they are a service provider to a Plan, or because they are related to a service provider. Generally, the exemption would be applicable if the party to the transaction with the Plan is a party in interest or a disqualified person to the Plan but is not (i) an employer, (ii) a fiduciary who has or exercises any discretionary authority or control with respect to the investment of the Plan assets involved in the transaction, (iii) a fiduciary who renders investment advice (within the meaning of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code) with respect to those assets, or (iv) an affiliate of (i), (ii) or (iii). Any Plan fiduciary relying on this statutory exemption (Section 408(b)(17) of ERISA and Section 4975(d)(20) of the Code) and purchasing Notes on behalf of a Plan will be deemed to represent that (x) the fiduciary has made a good faith determination that the Plan is paying no more than, and is receiving no less than, adequate consideration in connection with the transaction and (y) neither we, Bear Stearns, nor any of our affiliates directly or indirectly exercises any discretionary authority or control or renders investment advice (as defined above) with respect to the assets of the Plan which such fiduciary is using to purchase the Notes, both of which are necessary preconditions to utilizing this exemption. Any purchaser that is a Plan is encouraged to consult with counsel regarding the application of the exemption.
 
A fiduciary who causes a Plan to engage, directly or indirectly, in a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to a penalty under ERISA, and may be liable for any losses to the Plan resulting from such transaction. Code Section 4975 generally imposes an excise tax on disqualified persons who engage, directly or indirectly, in non-exempt transactions with the assets of Plans subject to such Section. If an IRA engages in a prohibited transaction, the assets of the IRA are deemed to have been distributed to the IRA beneficiaries.
 
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In accordance with ERISA’s general fiduciary requirements, a fiduciary with respect to any ERISA Plan who is considering the purchase of Notes on behalf of such plan should consider the foregoing information and the information set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable pricing supplement, and should determine whether such purchase is permitted under the governing plan document and is prudent and appropriate for the ERISA Plan in view of its overall investment policy and the composition and diversification of its portfolio. Fiduciaries of Plans established with, or for which services are provided by, us, Bear Stearns, and/or certain of our affiliates should consult with counsel before making any acquisition. Each purchaser of any Notes, the assets of which constitute the assets of one or more Plans, and each fiduciary that directs such purchaser with respect to the purchase or holding of such Notes, will be deemed to represent that the purchase, holding and disposition of the Notes does not and will not constitute a prohibited transaction under Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code for which an exemption is not available.
 
Certain employee benefit plans, such as governmental plans (as defined in Section 3(32) of ERISA) and, if no election has been made under Section 410(d) of the Code, church plans (as defined in Section 3(33) of ERISA), are not subject to Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code. However, such plans may be subject to the provisions of applicable federal, state or local law ("Similar Law") similar to the foregoing provisions of ERISA or the Code. Fiduciaries of such plans ("Similar Law Plans") should consider applicable Similar Law when investing in the Notes. Each fiduciary of a Similar Law Plan will be deemed to represent that the Similar Law Plan’s (direct or indirect) acquisition and holding of the Notes will not result in a non-exempt violation of applicable Similar Law.
 
The sale of any Note to a Plan or a Similar Law Plan is in no respect a representation by us or any of our affiliates that such an investment meets all relevant legal requirements with respect to investments by Plans or Similar Law Plans generally or any particular Plan or Similar Law Plan, or that such an investment is appropriate for a Plan or a Similar Law Plan generally or any particular Plan or Similar Law Plan.

 
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