NYT,pg1: 2 Executives Are Out as Intrigue Engulfs Morgan Stanley

[DeepModem Mom]

2 Executives Are Out as Intrigue Engulfs Morgan Stanley
By LANDON THOMAS Jr.
Published: March 30, 2005


....A long-simmering dispute over the direction of Morgan Stanley erupted in a public brawl yesterday, as two senior executives resigned in a shake-up intended to reassert (Philip J.) Purcell's control.

While Wall Street is no stranger to palace intrigue, the infighting at one of the biggest investment houses in the world is remarkable for an industry that puts a premium on discretion and loyalty. Eight former Morgan Stanley executives have now spoken out to urge the board that Mr. Purcell be replaced immediately as chief executive.

The turmoil reflects the long-standing divisions that have riven the firm since the 1997 merger of the investment banking half of Morgan and the Main Street financial retailer Dean Witter....

***

While power grabs and abrupt firings are not uncommon on Wall Street, the campaign carried out by the former Morgan Stanley executives - including a former president and a chairman - is a highly unusual example of a united group of former executives turning publicly on their old company, and especially their chief executive.

The conflict also comes at a time when Morgan Stanley's areas of expertise in the market - equity underwriting and mergers and acquisitions - are experiencing lulls, relative to the boom years in the late 1990's....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/business/30wall.html

[cliss]

1. This can only mean one thing......

C-R-I-S-I-S for Morgan Stanley. There's something simmering under the surface that we haven't heard yet.

If things were going smoothly, you would never see this kind of upheaval, especially out in the open. This sort of thing only happens when the framework is falling apart.

(will be watching Morgan Stanley with great interest over the next few weeks).
:smoke: