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Article: Morgan Stanley curtails Wall Street optimism
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- April 23, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Bank slumps to first-quarter loss
The parade of Wall Street banks posting better-than-expected
earnings was brought to an abrupt halt yesterday by Morgan Stanley,
which swung to a loss during the first three months of this year.
Much of the miss was the result of a perverse accounting rule
covering the value of its own debt, but the bank also posted another
$1bn (691m) hit to the value of its portfolio of commercial real
estate investments.
The company, which came to the brink of collapse during last
autumn's financial panic, said it would continue to cut costs. It
set aside 46 per cent less money to pay salaries and bonuses in the
first quarter than it did in the same period last year, ...