Morgan Stanley Faces Third Quarterly Loss

by Jordan Yerman | July 22, 2009 at 06:23 am

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Morgan Stanley, still on federal life-support, is facing its third quarterly loss in a row.

While some analysts continue to believe that Morgan Stanley's long-term strategy is sound, shareholders can be forgiven for not sharing that optimism.

One element holding the bank down is the need to repay $10 billion in federal bailout money, but Morgan Stanley would no longer exist without it.

The bank said that its net loss was $1.26 billion, or $1.10 a share, which included a charge to repay government bailout money. That compared with earnings of $1.06 billion, or $1.02 a share, in the period a year earlier. The loss from continuing operations was $159 million, or $1.37 a share, in the second quarter. In the first quarter, Morgan Stanley had reported a loss of $177 million.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs is looking at record profits, which, while pleasing its shareholders, will anger taxpayers, whose money kept Goldman Sachs alive.