MORGAN STANLEY

U.S. stocks advanced on Thursday as robust earnings from Apple, Morgan Stanley and General Electric lifted the market, but weaker-than- expected reports on jobless claims and Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index kept gains in check.

Morgan Stanley's first-quarter profit fell nearly 50 percent, but the results were better than many analysts had forecast thanks to stronger-than-expected fixed-income trading revenue.

U.S. stocks advanced in early trade on Thursday as robust earnings from Apple, Morgan Stanley and General Electric offset higher-than-forecast jobless claims data.

Morgan Stanley's first-quarter profit dropped nearly 50 percent, hurt by a steep decline in bond trading revenue.

A Morgan Stanley securities joint venture in Japan with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T> said it will lose nearly $2 billion after its fixed income traders took market positions which were larger than its financial fitness and then made wrong bets.

A Japanese securities joint venture between Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T> and Morgan Stanley said it will report a net loss of 145 billion yen ($1.7 billion) for the year ended March due to trading losses.

U.S. stock markets gained for the first time in four days on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected report on new home starts and encouraging quarterly results from Johnson & Johnson helped lift the markets.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is expected to report sharply lower quarterly earnings due to weak trading results and a charge for buying back preferred stock from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

Bank of America said it has hired Gary Lynch, a former director of enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to head its legal, compliance, and regulatory relations efforts.

A Morgan Stanley property fund failed to make $3.3 billion in debt payments by a deadline on Friday, handing over the keys to a central Tokyo office building to Blackstone and other investors, the largest repayment failure of its kind in Japan.

Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman's total compensation reached $15.2 million in 2010, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.

US stocks advanced in early trade on Wednesday as better-than-expected first quarter earnings from JP Morgan buoyed sentiment.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as Alcoa sales missed estimates and energy stocks declined as oil prices plunged more than 3 percent. Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to higher opening on Wednesday ahead of economic data including retail sales.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as Alcoa sales missed estimates and energy stocks declined as oil prices plunged more than 2 percent.

U.S. stock underwriting was the sole strong business in an otherwise bleak first quarter for U.S. investment banks.

Renault Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata resigned on Monday, taking the flak for the embarrassing fiasco that started as a probe into suspected industrial espionage case and ended as a fraud case.

Level 3 Communications said it agreed to acquire Global Crossing for about $1.9 billion stock deal to boost its service portfolio.

U.S. stocks declined on Thursday after reports of another earthquake hitting Japan in less than a month, but markets were off their lows after a tsunami warning was lifted.

U.S. stock markets ended higher on Wednesday, led by gains from technology and banking sector stocks. Cisco Systems led gains in technology stocks after CEO John Chambers said in a memo to employees that the company has lost its way and will need to restore its credibility. Chambers suggested Cisco might change operations to narrow the company's focus.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) said it agreed to sell its Capsugel business, a maker of hard capsules, to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Robert & Co. for $2.375 billion in cash.

During the height of the financial crisis, banks around the world lined up to borrow money from the discount window of the Federal Reserve. In the few months before and after Lehman Brother’s collapse on September 15, 2008, billions were lent out.