Perhaps there is something in the sweet, bottled, artesian aquifer-filtered water over at Morgan Stanley: a few months ago we found out that one of their traders was fired for paying a dwarf to dress up in a Men in Black suit for a stunt (it's a fact that people with too much money want to live in a movie). Now we learn that a former Morgan Stanley executive who bit the ear off of one of his subordinates is still gainfully employed at Deutsche Bank. more ›

A couple of weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal published a profile on Solomon Lederer, a software developer who tries to turn his subway commute into a social networking opportunity. His mission is to connect with other human beings in the real world, and perhaps turn strangers into friends. Of course, this simply isn't done, and now Lederer's employer has made an example out of him. more ›

Morgan Stanley has been cutting jobs in bulk ever since their acquisition of Smith Barney last year, most notably with the 200-employee cut back two weeks ago, which Reuters was told would be the "'lion's share' of the merger-related job cuts." It seems that source must have mixed up his euphemisms, perhaps referring instead to adorable baby cubs' share of the cuts—because the carnage has only begun. more ›

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Justice Department is in the preliminary stage of an investigation into whether Morgan Stanley "misled investors about mortgage-derivatives deals it helped design and sometimes bet against." Instead Abacus, the collateralized-debt obligations that Goldman Sachs is under fire for, in this case, there are the "Dead Presidents" deals, named after Presidents James Buchanan and Andrew Jackson. more ›

According to Dealbreaker, outgoing Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack told employees he's not taking a bonus this year "citing market conditions and the extraordinary assistance the government lent to the banking industry... Mr. Mack has now foregone a bonuses for three years in a row, and last year, he received no raise, bonus or stock options. Since becoming chief executive in 2005, he has taken all of his bonuses in Morgan Stanley stock, not in cash." The Deal Journal says don't feel bad for Mack, suggesting that he's probably cashed in the tens of millions he's earned in stock since 2005. more ›

Late yesterday, Citigroup announced it would merge its Smith Barney brokerage unit with Morgan Stanley. Bloomberg News reports, "The venture, which New York-based Morgan Stanley will control with a 51 percent stake, would employ 20,390 brokers in more than 1,000 branches." However, it's unclear whether they will be able to retain those brokers: MS co-president James Gorman said, "Will there be financial-adviser attrition? That’s possible. It’s obviously a hot recruiting market out there." (It is?) And the jury is still out on whether the venture will help the ailing Citigroup, which expects losses of $10 billion for the 4th quarter. more ›

Last night, the Federal Reserve announced that investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will become bank holding companies. The move will put the two firms under greater regulation, which the NY Times says "fundamentally reshapes an era of high finance that defined the modern Gilded Age."

It was a blunt acknowledgment that their model of finance and investing had become too risky and that they needed the cushion of bank deposits that had kept big commercial banks like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase relatively safe amid the recent turmoil. more ›

Now that Barclays is buying Lehman Brothers' broker-dealer business, the British firm is also getting Lehman's Seventh Avenue headquarters. The NY Times has a great story following the building's history: It was originally built for Morgan Stanley, but MS decided back out before it was finished and Lehman bought the building four weeks after the 9/11 attacks. The Partnership for NYC's Kathryn Wilde said, “Barclays has had a rather modest presence here, so this is a big new commitment to New York. Given the role that many of our New York-based firms have played in building London’s presence in the world’s financial markets, it seems like a good quid pro quo.” Barclays will also have another marquee NYC address for its name: The Barclays Center where the Nets will play at the Atlantic Yards. more ›

Wall Street is poised for a rally as central banks around the world--from the U.S.'s Federal Reserve to the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan (and others)--put more cash into the markets. Per the NY Times:

The Fed said in a statement that it had authorized a $180 billion expansion of its temporary reciprocal currency arrangements, known as swap lines, to allow banks to borrow more dollars in markets at a lower rates... more ›

The MTA has called a special board meeting to approve a takeover of the Hudson Yards development project in Manhattan by developer The Related Companies and investment bank Goldman Sachs. The quick switch follows an abrupt departure by real estate development firm Tishman Speyer, that won approval after a tortuously long selection process. An MTA press release quotes Mayor Bloomberg:

"Today's announcement that the MTA will award Related Companies, in partnership with Goldman Sachs, the development rights for the West Side Rail Yards is great news for the City. Despite the setbacks of the last few weeks, we are certain that Related and Goldman will realize this tremendous opportunity to develop what is really the only large parcel of undeveloped space left in Manhattan. The attractiveness of this area for developers stems in part because the City is funding an extension of the #7 line, making this vital new mixed use community of residential, commercial and office space a truly transit oriented development. We will continue to work with the State and MTA and with the developer to help make the Hudson Yards development a reality."

MTA officials are reportedly in negotiations with Tishman Speyer Properties this weekend in preparation to award the real estate firm the winning bid on the 26 acre Hudson Yards property. An official announcement is expected at the MTA's board meeting next Wednesday, which will initiate four months of more detailed negotiations about the sale. The winning bidder will acquire the rights to develop commercial and residential properties at the site. A platform will also need to be built above the rail yards first, which could cost $1.5 billion above and beyond the initial purchase price. more ›

Brookfield Properties, which had offered a plan to bring back streets - as well as 12 million square feet of development and 15 acres of public space - to the West Side Rail Yards, has declined to continue in the bidding process. The MTA had requested revised Hudson Yards proposals with more financial details by yesterday and the bids received were from Durst and Vornado, Tishman Speyer and Morgan Stanley, Extell, and Related Companies. more ›

The U.S. financial markets may have been closed due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance, but stock markets around the world tumbled as worries over the U.S. economy took hold. Johan Stein, who manages about $14 billion at an asset management firm in Stockholm told Bloomberg, "It's the worst I've ever seen. The financial system is in terrible shape, and no one knows where this will end.'' more ›

The MTA has apparently narrowed down the list of contenders to develop the West Side Rail Yards - and may even ask them to team up together. According to Crain's New York, the MTA favors the developers who have already lined up tenants. Which means the front runners are The Related Companies with News Corporation and Goldman Sachs, Durst & Vornado with Conde Nast, and Tishman-Speyer with Morgan Stanley. But front runners may need to be partners as well! more ›

While everyone knows that the proposals five development teams have offered up for the MTA's West Side rail yards are likely to change, the NY Times' architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff made it clear that he hopes they do, with a withering review of the five plans. Noting the great opportunity that developers have, Ouroussoff says the designs "are not just a disappointment for their lack of imagination, they are also a grim referendum on... more ›

The financial markets may be taking a hit lately, but Wall Street is still planning about $38 billion in bonuses this year. Bloomberg News reports that the money was thanks to "a record $9 billion of fees for arranging acquisitions and $5 billion for underwriting initial public offerings and sales of junk bonds." This translate to an average Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers or Bear Stearns worker getting over $200,000 in bonuses.... more ›

A storefront at the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and 43rd Street (across from Grand Central) may be a window into the future of the West Side Rail Yards. The MTA unveiled an exhibition of the five proposals to redevelop the rail yards on the Far West Side of Manhattan, and the public will get a chance to see the models every day (except Thanksgiving) through December 3. And what's more, the MTA wants the... more ›

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: An armored robbery in Queens, a boat in distress east of the Steeplechase Pier in Brooklyn and a school bus accident in Staten Island. The bids are in for the West Side Yards, and the companies that submitted them are Extell Development Company, Brookfield Properties Developer LLC, The Related Companies, TS West Side Holding, LLC (A Joint Venture of Tishman Speyer and Morgan Stanley), and Hudson Center East LLC... more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an armed carjacking at the intersection of 164th St. and the Union Turnpike in Queens, an unconscious firefighter at 51st St. and 5th Ave. in Manhattan, and a slashing on Myrtle and Wyckoff Aves. in Brooklyn.
• Mia Farrow is speaking out against the atrocities in Darfur.
• This is the summer of our discontent. The beach season is winding down with below-average-temperature weather and rain and clouds.
• An eight-month-old boy is doing well after receiving a quintuple organ transplant of a liver, small bowel, pancreas, colon and stomach at the Childrens Hospital of Morgan Stanley New York-Presbyterian.
• Experts begin testifying on causes of steampipe explosion. Any conclusions are likely to be a couple of months away.
• A new law signed by Gov. Spitzer can force rape suspects to undergo HIV testing.
• Oprah Winfrey will leave Chicago behind to tape a show in NYC this September. We predict Dave Letterman as a guest.
• A slideshow of NYC in the apocalyptic future without humans to scoop poop.

In an effort to cut power consumption and adopt a more green profile, some New York City office towers are making use of a somewhat archaic air conditioning system: blowing air over giant blocks of ice. WNBC reports that financial firm Credit Suisse is using such a system to cool its offices in the Met Life tower off Madison Square. The basement of the building houses three main cooling rooms with "chilling machines and 64 tanks that hold 800 gallons of water each." more ›

A former client services associate at the Melville, Long Island branch of Morgan Stanley filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court claiming her old boss "tried to 'sexually assault her' with a pencil", stole her underwear, and complained to her about how his wife wouldn't give him oral sex. Lisa LaMacchia claims that a human resources official told her to "suck it up" after Richard Dorfman allegedly threw a file at her and called her a "f---ing bitch." LaMacchia is seeking monetary damages. more ›

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged 14 people in an insider trading ring that involved coded text messages on disposable cell phones, information from a Morgan Stanley lawyer, and secret meetings at the Oyster Bar. Wonder if they also shared information via the Whispering Gallery, too. more ›

Six female employees have filed a bias suit against their employer, investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Service, claiming that they were denied opportunities and financial rewards - and that their male colleagues created a "boys' club" environment including hookers at lunch and rude behavior. Proving that you can't make this up, the suit includes allegations that one woman was called the "Pamela Anderson of sales/trading" by her boss. (We imagine her boss is trying to backpedal now, saying it was meant to be a sincere compliment!) And another woman was pressured to leave a team celebration dinner because the guys wanted to go a strip club. This is so 1980s! In addition to being sidelined when coming back from maternity leave, there's scandalous mention of a former chief executive's affair with an assistant turn into the assistant having their love child. more ›

Her parents made the trip to Thailand to search for their daughter in December. One worry of theirs was that Hannah, if dead, might be buried in a mass grave with the thousands of Thai victims because of her ethnicity. A memorial for Hannah will be at St. Bart's Church on Saturday. more ›