Morgan Stanley (MS)

[zigzagman]

RBS prepares sale of Asian assets

By Sundeep Tucker in Hong Kong

Published: February 20 2009 12:08 | Last updated: February 20 2009 16:51

Royal Bank of Scotland has hired financial advisers to assist in the sale of its Asian assets, the clearest sign to date that the stricken UK bank is planning to cull some of its international operations.

People familiar with the situation said the UK bank has chosen Morgan Stanley to advise it following a “beauty parade” of investment banks this week.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7534f8ac-ff45-11dd-b3f8-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F7534f8ac-ff45-11dd-b3f8-000077b07658.html%3Fnclick_check%3D1&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2F%3Fb%3D0&nclick_check=1

[zigzagman]

Citi, M. Stanley may pay $3 billion to keep brokers:

Friday February 13, 10:11 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - News) and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C - News) are preparing to pay $3 billion of retention awards to brokers to keep them from fleeing a brokerage joint venture, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Terms are not expected until later this month, but the issue could grow politically sensitive because the government has injected money into both companies, the newspaper said.

Morgan Stanley is paying Citigroup $2.7 billion to take control of the joint venture, which will combine its brokerage operation with Citigroup's Smith Barney unit.

Citigroup has taken $45 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, while Morgan Stanley has taken $10 billion.

A spokesman for the joint venture did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Broker retention payments have long been common on Wall Street, and brokerages themselves may become more important to banks because the credit crisis has curbed merger, underwriting and trading activity.

But many investors, politicians and regulators have questioned the propriety of the financial industry paying out big bonuses at all as losses mushroom from bad debts.

According to the newspaper, not all of the joint venture's 20,000 brokers would get retention payments. It said a broker who brought in $1 million in revenue last year might expect to get $500,000 to $1 million, depending on how much he continues to produce.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Gary Hill)

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/090213/business_us_citigroup_morganstanley_brokerage.html?.v=2

[ucantfoolmee]

Thanks it has been good to me so far, lol.

[zigzagman]

Good for you! ~ I'm happy to hear that ~~~

[ucantfoolmee]

Wow I did good today on MS.

[1994hoosier]

I am glad to hear Morgan Stanley is in good financial health. However, it is sad to hear that 1500 to 1800 people could be out of work. I understand profit is important, but humans are too. The thought of 8,500 to 8,800 people (a grand total including the earlier 7,000 receiving the axe) possibly doing without is sad. I hope many of them are going to find new positions soon.

[zigzagman]

Looking GOOD! ~ MS is Up $1.90 +9.25% ~~~

It's making up some of it's huge loss from yesterday ;^)

[ucantfoolmee]

I bought in this morning and I am up so far.

[zigzagman]

That sounds like a good idea ~

Good news may be coming soon, and they both got beat up pretty bad yesterday...

[ucantfoolmee]

I am going to buy some MS and GS tomorrow. I am hoping to get in before they bounce back up.

[1994hoosier]

Thanks for your help. I understand now.

[zigzagman]

Hi '1994hoosier' ~

Which statement don't you understand in that post?...There are a few of them...

First, I stated MS is one of the strongest companies of the financial banking sector...Many other companies in the same sector like Bank of America and CitiGroup are in much worse shape than Morgan Stanley right now...MS is one of these types of companies who's survival is guaranteed...

I don't know if you know anything about ETF's, but that's what I was talking about when I mentioned FAZ and FAS...They are both Exchange Traded Funds (ETF's) for the Financial Sector...

That means that if most of the stocks of the Financial Sector go up any given day, FAS will go up, and FAZ will go down...

FAS is playing the Financial Sector when you think it will go up, and FAZ is playing the Financial Sector when you think it will go down...

[1994hoosier]

Could someone (preferably zigzagman) clarify what this comment means in simple English? To a newbie like me, it is terribly confusing.

[zigzagman]

While MS is one of the strongest of the bunch ~

I still like to play the 3X leveraged ETF for the Financial Sector known as FAS...IF Tim G. announces a good plan to save our banking industry, FAS could really take off to the upside FAST...Take a look at it...It's a beauty...

[1994hoosier]

That would be good. My savings have been hungering for better interest.

[zigzagman]

IF Tim Geithner announces the "bad bank" ~

Plan on Monday like he's supposed to, the Financial Sector should take off to the upside in a big way IMO...

[1994hoosier]

It is sad to see such a disappointing fourth quarter 2008 for profits. I sincerely hope things improve soon.

[1994hoosier]

I'm glad to see Friday's price remained respectable.

[zigzagman]

MS is coming around nicely these days ;^))

[1994hoosier]

It is good to see a stock price increase today. Given the tremendous decline over the past year, any improvement is an encouragement.

[zigzagman]

Morgan Stanley Financials:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=ms

[zigzagman]

Morgan Stanley planning to cut jobs:

Monday February 2, 5:37 pm ET
Report: Morgan Stanley planning to cut up to 4 percent of its work force:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Morgan Stanley could announce this month that it plans to cut up to 4 percent of its work force, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The report, citing anonymous people familiar with the plans, said the Wall Street firm could cut 1,500 to 1,800 jobs. The reductions could be announced this month, according to the report posted on the newspaper's Web site.

Morgan Stanley representatives were not immediately available to comment on the report.

The additional cuts come on top of about 7,000 job cuts Morgan Stanley made in 2008, and amid layoffs across nearly every sector of the economy as the nation remains stuck in a recession.

The Journal noted that none of the cuts would come in the global wealth management business, which is getting ready to combine with Citigroup Inc.'s Smith Barney brokerage unit. In a deal announced last month, Morgan Stanley will own a 51 percent stake in the venture.

Morgan Stanley has about 8,400 brokers.

Citigroup has been especially hit hard by the ongoing credit crisis and has been looking to shed assets and streamline operations, which helped lead to the deal with Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley is one of two remaining large investment banks -- along with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. -- that withstood the carnage the sector endured last September when Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection and Merrill Lynch & Co. sold itself to Bank of America Corp. To remain independent, both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs became bank holding companies, the regulatory structure for traditional commercial banks.

Morgan Stanley has endured trouble of its own during the ongoing turmoil, though not as much as Citigroup or Lehman. New York-based Morgan Stanley lost $2.37 billion during its fiscal fourth quarter as it took a wide range of losses on the value of some of its investments.

Shares of Morgan Stanley rose 57 cents to close at $20.80 Monday.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090202/morgan_stanley_job_cuts.html?.v=3

[zigzagman]

Stocks End Mixed; Financial, Energy Equities Rebound:

Evelyn Rusli, 01.23.09, 05:30 PM EST
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/23/oil-citigroup-ge-markets-cx_er_0123transclose.html?partner=yahootix

The Street could not pull off a strong rally on Friday. Financial and energy stocks rebounded, but the Dow fell 45 points at the close. The index fell 2% for the week. The S&P 500 gained four points, though, and the Nasdaq rose 12 points.

Oil advanced as the dollar tilted south. Crude gained $2 to nearly $46 a barrel. Chevron added 1%, while Royal Dutch Shell gained 3%.

Citigroup led the financial sector, as President Obama confirmed that the next stimulus package could be ready by mid-February. Morgan Stanley and Bank of America were also up sharply.

General Electric (nyse: GE) failed to rebound after a disappointing profit report. The blue chip fell 11% at the close.

Intel (nasdaq: INTC) managed a gain, adding 2% despite the somber outlook for semiconductors and computers in 2009. On Friday the chip maker said Chairman Craig Barrett will retire in May after three decades at Intel. Board member Jane Shaw will replace Barrett.

[zigzagman]

Smith Barney customers could enjoy Morgan deal...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- If Morgan Stanley's acquisition of Smith Barney goes through, some customers of both brokerage platforms would benefit, according to analysts.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/some-customers-benefit-if-morgan/story.aspx?guid={5F8F03A9-0668-48AF-BF4A-E0CC008E3A95}&siteid=yhoof

[1994hoosier]

A modest stock decline for January 12! Not bad! I'll give Morgan Stanley some consideration for investing.

[zigzagman]

Morgan Stanley Posts Wider-Than-Expected Loss:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/28257402

[zigzagman]

Bernstein sees loss at Goldman, cuts M. Stanley view:

Monday November 17, 9:48 am ET

(Reuters) - Bernstein Research analyst Brad Hintz became the latest to join the ranks of analysts expecting a fourth-quarter loss at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS - News), as he expects the company to be hurt by writedowns amid weak credit market conditions.

Hintz, who also slashed his earnings estimates on Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - News), expects the former investment banks to suffer as global economic conditions continue to deteriorate.

Separately, theflyonthewall.com reported that Citigroup cut its price target on Goldman shares to $125 from $150.

Shares of Goldman fell 5 percent before the bell, while those of Morgan Stanley slid 3 percent.

Bernstein's Hintz expects Goldman Sachs to post a fourth-quarter loss of 54 cents a share, hurt by writedowns related to its investments in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (Shanghai:601398.SS - News; HKSE:1398.HK - News; ICBC) and its private equity holdings.

Goldman is likely to lose $800 million from its investment at ICBC, due to the company's declining equity value on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hintz said.

Goldman may also face reduced fixed income sales and trading revenues due to the difficult credit market conditions, Hintz, who had earlier expected a fourth-quarter profit of $2.12 a share at the company, said in a note to clients.

Over the past two weeks, a slew of analysts at brokerages including Fox-Pitt Kelton and UBS have forecast that Goldman will post a fourth-quarter loss, which would be its first ever as a public company. The analysts' expectations for a loss range between $2.50 per share and 40 cents a share.

MORGAN TO OUTDO GOLDMAN?

"Because Morgan Stanley is less reliant on capital intensive trading revenues than Goldman Sachs, Bernstein expects Morgan Stanley's results will be stronger than Goldman's this quarter," Bernstein's Hintz said.

But he cut his fourth-quarter estimates on Morgan Stanley to 30 cents a share from $1.12 a share, citing a "difficult operating environment" during the quarter.

Hintz prefers Morgan Stanley over Goldman Sachs for its greater revenue diversification, lower reliance on capital intensive trading revenues and the earnings stability that its retail brokerage business provides.

The analyst has an "outperform" rating on Morgan Stanley, while he rates Goldman Sachs "market-perform."

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley became bank holding companies regulated by the U.S. Federal Reserve in September, after Lehman Brothers (Other OTC:LEHMQ.PK - News) failed, Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER - News) agreed to be bought and the financial markets spun out of control.

The change, effectively killing off the investment banking model that had dominated Wall Street for more than 20 years, enabled Goldman and Morgan Stanley to take deposits, gain easier access to financing and gave them more flexibility to buy retail banks.

On the investment banking front, the current quarter was weak for the two surviving securities firms with weak underwritting volumes, analyst Hintz said.

"The potential for negative marks remains real as hedge funds, banks and other institutions continue to de-lever their balance sheets," he said.

While mergers and acquisition advisory revenue is likely to hold up the quarter, it is not likely to offset the weakness from the underwriting side of the business, Hintz said.

Goldman shares closed at $66.73 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange, while those of Morgan Stanley closed at $12.03.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/081117/business_us_goldmansachs_research_bernstein.html?.v=3

[zigzagman]

Analysts cuts estimates on Goldman, Morgan Stanley:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081114/goldman_morgan_stanley_mover.html?.v=1

[zigzagman]

Morgan Stanley names 2 to head retail bank:

Wednesday November 12, 2:27 pm ET

Morgan Stanley names 2 Wachovia executives to run firm's new retail banking business:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Morgan Stanley on Wednesday said it will hire two top executives from Wachovia Corp. to help launch its new retail banking business.

Cece Sutton was named president of the new group as part of a plan to bring in deposits that will help offset riskier segments of Morgan Stanley's business.

At Wachovia, which is being acquired by Wells Fargo & Co., Sutton was head of retail and small business banking with responsibility for 33,000 employees across 3,300 locations.

Morgan Stanley also named Jonathan Witter as the retail bank's chief operating officer. He was head of distribution for Wachovia.

Morgan Stanley, the nation's No. 2 securities firm, converted into a bank holding company in September.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081112/morgan_stanley_appointments.html?.v=1

[zigzagman]

Morgan Stanley Plans Broad Job Cuts:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/27680358

[zigzagman]

Morgan Stanley reappears in Platts oil window-trade:

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINLB27626620081111?rpc=44

[Ole Broke Azz]

I actually grabbed it before the drop at 13.90 bought more at 11.80 and doubled down at 10.30 for an 11.57 average. sold the whole thing at 15.10 before the close.

did ok but it would have been a lot better with out that stinking 13.90. Staging buys saves me about 99% of the time, can't seem to find those bottoms like some.

[Realperson]

Yup
I posted the drop on our board and thought it strange the lights were out here as if know one was home.

I hope you grabed it!

[Ole Broke Azz]

It is amazing that MS is a stock that had a 52% trading range today but because I-Hub is geared toward P&D Promoter Scams that no one even posted on this board.

no weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's
no kaaaaaaaaabooooooooooooooooooooom's
no to daaaaaaa moooooooooooooooooooon's

unfriggingbelievable!!!

[Briboy]

Come on..what's going on here

panic? why?

blows me away

[Briboy]

To blow this morning

Briboy

[buzzbomb]

Be intresting to see what up today

[pro_trader]

Shares of Morgan Stanley (MS) staged a bullish "island reversal" over the last few days with a gap down followed by a gap up. It also offered a bullish stochastics crossover from oversold levels. While I am not expecting shares to go straight up from here (especially after a 95% one-day move), It does appear that the stock has bottomed and I expect higher prices over the intermediate-term.Investors should begin to initiate long positions ASAP.

[Vulcanized Crawler]

dang wish i had bot last thur at 7

[Vulcanized Crawler]

well i hope they dont screw ms like they did aig and wamu

[loridans]

MS to Pop on Monday

Morgan Stanley, Goldman May Gain Investment From U.S. Treasury

By Christine Harper

Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the biggest independent U.S. investment banks, may reap cash infusions as part of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan to buy stakes in financial institutions, investors said.

Paulson, in a statement yesterday, said the U.S. will purchase equity in a ``broad array'' of banks and other financial firms to restore market stability and ensure economic growth. The Treasury is working on a ``standardized program that is open to a broad array of financial institutions,'' he said.

Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer John Mack, 63, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, 54, failed to regain investor confidence by converting their firms into bank holding companies last month and raising new capital from private investors. Morgan Stanley's stock dropped almost 60 percent this week, while Goldman's fell 29 percent.

``Based on the fact that they're allegedly commercial banks now and are moving that way, I think they're likely to get protection,'' said Benjamin Wallace, an analyst at Grimes & Co. at Westborough, Massachusetts, which manages about $700 million. ``Whatever solution they come up with for the banking industry as a whole will apply to them, because they're no longer special.''

Michele Davis, a spokeswoman for the Treasury, declined to comment.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman were among the most profitable firms in Wall Street history and paid out $36.7 billion in compensation and benefits to employees for 2007. Both investment banks stayed profitable through the first three quarters of this year.

Lehman's bankruptcy on Sept. 15 ignited investor fears about Goldman and Morgan Stanley. To try to win back confidence, the firms obtained Federal Reserve approval to become bank holding companies.

Buffett, Mitsubishi

Goldman raised $10 billion on Sept. 24 from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and a public share sale. Morgan Stanley struck an agreement to get $9 billion from Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. The accord is scheduled for completion on Oct. 14.

Moody's Investors Service added to the concern about both investment banks on Oct. 10, when it placed Morgan Stanley's A1 long-term rating on review for a possible downgrade and lowered its outlook for Goldman Sachs's Aa3 long-term rating to negative.

Morgan Stanley's $4.5 billion of 6.625 percent senior bonds that mature in April 2018 fell to 61 cents on the dollar yesterday from 71 cents a week earlier.

Paulson, supported by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, won Congressional approval last month to spend as much as $700 billion to buy assets from banks and take equity stakes as part of the so-called Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

`Follow Through'

The move followed the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in mid-September after the government refused to provide money to support a takeover. The Lehman failure roiled debt markets and led to a loss of confidence in Morgan Stanley and Goldman.

``The government can go a long way by buying a stake in Morgan Stanley,'' said David Killian, a portfolio manager at Valley Forge Advisors LLC, which oversees $650 million, including Morgan Stanley shares and bonds. ``Paulson has to follow through on his promises; he and Bernanke went to Congress and said `we need this TARP facility to protect against ongoing systemic risk' and here we go, put your money where your mouth is.''

The U.S. government will support Morgan Stanley and Goldman after Lehman's bankruptcy caused losses in money market funds and led investors to avoid commercial paper, which companies rely on for short-term funding, according to Grimes &Co.'s Wallace.

Lesson Learned

``The government learned its lesson with Lehman,'' said Wallace. ``You need them to potentially come in and invest in these companies.''

Egan-Jones Ratings Co. said Morgan Stanley probably needs to raise $60 billion in new equity to reassure customers and investors. The investment bank has about $900 billion of assets and an equity market value of $10 billion. Mark Lake, a Morgan Stanley spokesman, declined to comment.

``The analogy is a snowball rolling down a mountain; the mass needed to stop that negative momentum increases as that snowball picks up speed and size,'' Egan-Jones's Sean Egan said in a phone interview yesterday. ``Perception trumps reality. They need a massive injection to stop the slide.''

The government can't allow financial companies to continue collapsing, Paul Krugman, an economics professor at Princeton University, said in an Oct. 9 interview.

`Big Mistake'

``It's really hard to put humpty-dumpty back together again after those things fail,'' Krugman said. ``The failure to rescue Lehman it turns out was a really big mistake.''

Morgan Stanley is selling more than 20 percent of itself to Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ for $9 billion -- an amount that nearly equals Morgan Stanley's total market value. The slide in Morgan Stanley shares has led investors to question whether the deal, scheduled to be closed on Oct. 14, will go through as planned.

Mitsubishi UFJ agreed to pay $6 billion for preferred stock and $3 billion for common stock at a value of $25.25 apiece, or 62 percent more than yesterday's closing price. Morgan Stanley and Mitsubishi UFJ have moved to quash speculation that the deal would collapse.

``I would be angry if I were a Mitsubishi shareholder and I got the same amount of Morgan Stanley when the stock has been cut in value,'' said Kenneth Crawford, a senior portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management in St. Louis, Missouri.

Crawford said he sold his Morgan Stanley stock last month after Lehman went bankrupt and American International Group Inc. was forced to rely on government support to fund itself.

`Incredible Scenarios'

``After Lehman was allowed to go bust and then AIG couldn't come up with the liquidity they needed, all of a sudden it seemed more likely that incredible scenarios could be more credible,'' he said.

Mitsubishi UFJ would be the second overseas investor to take a significant stake in Morgan Stanley. In December, China Investment Corp. paid $5.58 billion for equity units in Morgan Stanley that pay 9 percent a year and convert to common stock in 2010, granting CIC about 10 percent of the U.S. company.

For Morgan Stanley and Goldman, becoming bank holding companies regulated by the Federal Reserve may ``limit profit opportunities,'' while at the same time lower risks, Moody's Investors Service said when it cut the ratings outlook for both firms on Oct. 10.

Moody's in August cut Morgan Stanley's long-term credit rating from Aa3. At A1, the firm now has the fifth-highest investment grade rating.

The Morgan Stanley credit review affects about $200 billion of debt, Moody's said. The ratings company affirmed its Prime-1 grade for Morgan Stanley's short-term debt. The outlook for Goldman affects $175 billion of debt, and the company's short-term ratings were also affirmed at Prime-1.

``The government is not going to allow this to go the way of Lehman because the repercussions of Lehman have been vast, especially the resulting losses in money-market funds,'' Valley Forge's Killian said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christine Harper in New York at [e-mail].

[Vulcanized Crawler]

paulson can now buy in to MS if Mitsubishi bails .....
how low will it go. last time...few weeks back.... i bot ms at 12 and change and it then ran to 33 after short selling was halted. can i repeat the magic?? hope so. monday, whats the price???

[MWM]

MS falling hard? Gov't going to Nationalize?

[Vulcanized Crawler]

no that shorts are back what is bottom for ms?
a buck???

[PENNY_STOCKS]

$26.50 now, climbing back up after this mornings pullback.

[PENNY_STOCKS]

BB&T chief exec slams bailout planBaltimore Business Journal

A significant and immediate tax credit for financial institutions to purchase homes would be a more effective solution for the financial crisis than the proposed $700 billion federal bailout, said BB&T CEO John Allison.

The federal government should also buy homes, and not securities backed by mortgages, he wrote in a Sept. 23 letter to the U.S. Congress.

“This is a housing value crisis,” Allison wrote. “It does not make economic sense to purchase credit card loans, automobile loans, etc. The government should directly purchase housing assets, not real estate bonds.”

In his letter, Allison questions how the government will pay the proper price for distressed real estate assets. Overpaying will harm taxpayers, while underpaying will hurt real estate markets. He also believes allowing homeowners to use the bankruptcy to restructure their loans will “force losses on banks.”

He adds the primary beneficiaries of the proposed rescue are Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). The U.S. Treasury, he says, is “totally dominated by Wall Street investment bankers,” and “cannot be relied on to objectively assess all the implications of government policy on all financial intermediaries.”

Allison also said it is “inappropriate that the debate is largely being shaped by the financial institutions who made very poor decisions.”

He pins the responsibility for the crisis on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T is the fifth-largest commercial lender in Greater Baltimore and ranks No. 6 for deposits, according to Baltimore Business Journal research.

BB&T is a $136 billion banking company with 1,500 branches. Although the company (NYSE:BBT) has been hurt by the slowing real estate markets, it continues to turn a profit. It posted second-quarter net income of $428 million, or 78 cents per diluted share. It made $458 million, or 83 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2007.

Allison is scheduled to retire at the end of the year.

[PENNY_STOCKS]

BRIEF-Morgan Stanley CEO says Mitsubishi deal advancing-CNBC

NEW YORK (Thomson Financial) - Sept 26 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley:
* CEO tells employees Mitsubishi deal moving ahead-CNBC
* Deal with Mitsubishi 'days away' from being completed-CNBC
* Will raise $8.5 billion to $9.5 billion in additonal capital-CNBC

[PENNY_STOCKS]

Picked up a few shares today on hopes of congress finalizing the bailout in the next few days.

[Staranalyst]

Long or short in MS?

[MrSparex]

Whatta chart!