Morgan Stanley incurred a significant charge from its legal battle with bond insurer MBIA, weighing down the company’s quarterly results.  The company reported a loss of $275 million, or $0.15 per share.  For the fourth quarter of the previous year, the company reported a profit of $0.41 per share. A legal settlement with the bond insurer MBIA resulted in a one-time $1.7 billion charge for the... 

Morgan Stanley announced that it would eliminate 2.6% of its work force, approximately 1,600 jobs, by the first quarter of 2012.  Jeanmarie McFadden, a Morgan Stanley spokeswoman, said in a statement, “As we conduct our year-end performance management process and evaluate the right size of the franchise for 2012, we anticipate the elimination of approximately 1,600 positions across the firm globally.” The... 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has filed lawsuits against 17 banks in New York state and federal courts and in federal court in Connecticut.  The lawsuits seek to recoup $196 billion lost on mortgage-backed securities purchased by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.  The lawsuits accuse the banks of providing misleading information about the soundness of the mortgages underlying the securities...