Give Morgan Stanley Sometime to Adjust to the New World
Excerpt from the InvestorGuide.com Stock of the Day on 4/24/2009

Poor John Mack. Last year, he was criticized for overseeing the excessive leveraging of Morgan Stanley's balance sheet since his return to the firm in 2005. The storied Wall Street shop almost went the way of Lehman and Bear but Mack, with his dogged resilience, brought MS back from the precipice getting some help from his Japanese friends (Mizuho Financial) and the US taxpayer via TARP along the way. So he probably thought we came so close to being extinct that it might not be a bad idea to take it easy for a couple of quarters, cut back on proprietary trading and regain our bearings. Ordinarily, after the amount of red ink banks used up last year, this notion would have been well received. But then last week, after Goldman reported earnings and knocked the cover off the ball, MS was expected to do something similar. However, on Wednesday, the street, to its great disappointment found out that Mack is apparently on a no-risk diet. More >

Morgan Stanley Posts $2.37 Billion Loss
Excerpt from the InvestorGuide.com Stock of the Day on 12/17/2008

Yesterday, Goldman Sachs (GS: Charts, News, Offers) posted a 4Q loss of $2.12 billion. Morgan Stanley today followed suit and posted a loss of $2.37 billion as well. However, the market continued to rally on Goldman Sachs' earnings report due to the fact that Goldman Sachs reported positive earnings for the year ending 2008. We have seen how investors responded to Goldman Sachs' loss, but will investors be as receptive to the loss generated by Morgan Stanley? Also, what has Morgan Stanley been doing since turning into a bank-holding firm? More >

Is Morgan Stanley Next?
Excerpt from the InvestorGuide.com Stock of the Day on 9/18/2008

The financial landscape of Wall Street has been undergoing its most dramatic transformation since the Great Depression. Despite better-than-expected earnings, Morgan Stanley is topping the list of firms seeking shelter from the mounting financial storm. Morgan Stanley, one of the two major Wall Street banks left standing, has entered preliminary talks of a merger with Wachovia Bank (WB: Charts, News, Offers). Other banks have also expressing interest. Morgan Stanley has long been considered one of the more conservatively run investment banks but has seen its share price cut in half since the beginning of September. With Wachovia's shares down 80% from their 52-week high, one must ask whether this potential merger is fueled by fear that Morgan Stanley would follow the same path of the other fallen investment banks. Will this be end of the investment banking model for Wall Street? More >

Can Morgan Stanley Start Trading Better With its Money?   6/18/2008

Morgan Stanley takes first-ever quarterly loss in stride   12/19/2007

Morgan Stanley CEO Nets $40m Bonus   12/15/2006

Morgan Stanley Profits Double   6/21/2006