UBS Cuts Price Target on Morgan Stanley (MS) to $39 Following 3Q Results

Market Wrap: China Data Stunts Markets; Weight Watchers Inks Major Deal; Western Digital/SanDisk Deal Nears

Market wrap for October 19th

End of the Day: S&P 500 up 0.6 to 2,033.66; Dow Jones up 14.6 to 17,230.54; Nasdaq up 18.8 to 4,905.47

Market Brief: U.S. markets were lower Monday following news that China's economy grew 6.9 percent in the quarter, which was the first time the metric came in below 7 percent since 2009. China's overall growth target for 2015 is about 7 percent.

U.S. housing market levels are at the highest level seen in about 10 years, according to the NAHB.

IBM and Morgan Stanley had... More

Morgan Stanley lending business shines amid gloomy overall results

By Olivia Oran

(Reuters) - Morgan Stanley's (NYSE: MS) multiyear effort to build up its wealth management arm's lending business began to pay off on Monday as the unit emerged as one of the few bright spots in the bank's generally bleak quarterly earnings.

The New York-based bank said profit in its wealth management group rose 6 percent, helped by a 25 percent increase in net interest income, a measure of lending income. That growth stood in stark contrast with slides in bond trading, investment banking and investment management.

The net interest... More

Streetinsider.com's Hot Lunchtime Reads 10/19: (MS) (MSFT) (FB) (BZH)

The following is a list of notable articles to help get you through the lunch hour:Jamie Dimon: CEO's Shouldn't Make Earnings Forecasts ->... More

Morgan Stanley's (MS) Q3 Seen as Disappointing at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank maintained a Hold rating on Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) with a price target of $39. Analyst Matt O'Connor noted Morgan Stanley's Q3 results were disappointing, even excluding items.

"Results included reversals of carried interest within the Asian private equity business, mark-to-market losses on loans and higher legal... More

Factbox - Wall Street and commodity risk: Morgan Stanley risk rises

(Reuters) - Morgan Stanley's (NYSE: MS) commodity market trading risk measure, known as Value-at-Risk (VaR), rose in the three months through September, the bank said on Monday, the third Wall Street bank to report earnings.

The bank's VaR indicator was $17 million, up $1... More

Pre-Open Stock Movers 10/19: (WTW) (HEB) (PMCS) Higher; (GNCA) (GLDD) (SCTY) (MS) Lower (more...)

Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) 96.2% HIGHER; Oprah Winfrey and Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) have joined together in a groundbreaking partnership to inspire people around the world to lead a healthier and more fulfilling life. Winfrey was compelled by the proven Weight Watchers program combined with new initiatives to broaden the company's mission to prioritize overall health and wellness. As a part of this long-term partnership, Winfrey is making a substantial equity investment in the company and is joining the Board of Directors,... More

Wall St. near flat; energy shares weigh while tech helps

By Caroline Valetkevitch

(Reuters) - Advances in top tech and biotech names helped U.S. stocks to end with slight gains on Monday, while caution at the start of a heavy week of earnings kept a lid on the market.

The Dow and S&P 500 pared losses late in the session while the Nasdaq added to gains. Nike (NYSE: NKE), up 2.1 percent, helped the Dow, while gains in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) supported all three major indexes.

Morgan Stanley's trading rout sets grim tone for fourth quarter

By Richa Naidu and Olivia Oran

(Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) on Monday warned that there was little hope for a quick turnaround in its key trading business given the persistence of global growth concerns that helped pummel the bank's third quarter earnings.

Chief Executive James Gorman was put on the defensive after a 42 percent slide in bond trading, one of its worst performances since the financial crisis, and a drop in its private-equity business sent net income skidding.

"We're by no means complacent about this," Gorman told analysts... More

Morgan Stanley (MS) Posts Q3 EPS of 34c, ex. DVA

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reported Q3 EPS of $0.34, which may not compare with the analyst estimate of $0.63. Revenue for the quarter came in at $7.8 billion versus the consensus estimate of $8.54 billion.

EPS and revenue were down 47% and 12% from last year, respectively.

Business Overview

U.S. dollar strong, crude oil falls, stocks hold up despite earnings

By Sam Forgione

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar rose against the euro on Monday, ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later this week, while stocks on major world markets ended little changed despite further news of slowing Chinese economic growth.

U.S. stocks ended little changed but investors concern about the poor quality of third quarter earnings reports.

"People are waiting for an onslaught of earnings," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. "There's been enough negative guidance about the future to make people skeptical about the direction of the... More

Trading Radar for 10/19: Morgan Stanley (MS), IBM (IBM), Halliburton (HAL), Genuine Parts (GPC), Rambus (RMBS) Report

The Trading Radar highlights key earnings and economic announcements for the next trading session:

Before Markets Open:
Earnings:

Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC) - consensus EPS $1.24
Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) - consensus EPS $0.28
Hasbro (Nasdaq: HAS) - consensus EPS $1.53
Lennox Int'l (NYSE:... More

UPDATE: Morgan Stanley (MS) and Cerberus Said to Win $18B UK Mortgage Pool - Bloomberg

(Updated - October 16, 2015 1:49 PM EDT)

Cerberus and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) were reportedly picked as preferred bidder for the sale of GBP11.7 billion of mortgages, according to Bloomberg, citing four sources with knowledge of the matter. The portfolio comprises about 115,000 mortgages from... More

Bush, Clinton are Wall Street's favorites, donations show

By Emily Flitter and Grant Smith

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jeb Bush is leading the U.S. presidential campaign by at least one measure: financial support from Wall Street.

The former Florida governor who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination received more financial backing than any competitor - Democrat or Republican - from employees of the major Wall Street banks between July and the end of September, campaign filings released on Thursday show.

Employees from Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Credit Suisse... More