Reporting from New York -
You’d hardly know that Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley is struggling through the chaotic aftermath of the global financial crisis sparked a year ago by the collapse of investment banking rival Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc.
At least not from the way Morgan executives are paying themselves.
Despite a large second-quarter operating loss, Morgan earmarked $3.9 billion for bonuses and other compensation. That was almost three-quarters of its quarterly revenue, far more than firms typically shell out.
A year after Lehman’s record-setting bankruptcy sent shivers through the global financial system and sparked predictions of a wholesale reordering in the way Wall Street operates, one old saw remains: The more things change on Wall Street, the more they stay the same.
At first glance, Wall Street appears different in some major ways. Three marquee firms vanished, as have thousands of jobs and some of the abuses that took hold in the bubble.
But on the whole, Wall Street has recovered more quickly than expected with little difference in how it does business. And the unapologetic pursuit of money remains as deeply rooted as ever.
Bellwether firms led by Goldman Sachs Group are churning out mouth-watering profits. Risk-taking and aggressive securities …
Read the original article at Latimes
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