MorganStanley

After all the finger pointing over Facebook's rapid share price decline, there is one factor that should have served as warning. Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter, cut earnings estimates in the lead-up to the IPO -- while expanding its size and raising its price.

In a cost-cutting move, Swiss banking giant UBS announced that it would trim 3,500 people from its workforce. Most of the cuts, which are expected to save $2.5 billion in annual costs, will be in the firm's underperforming investment banking unit. It's the latest in a string of big bank layoffs. Who could be next?

Wall Street can be fickle, leaving investors scratching their heads in bewilderment. Some of last week's biggest surprises, blunders, and flat-out bone-headed moves included Morgan Stanley's downgrading of Google, another step toward a LivingSocial IPO, and irrational exuberance with respect to Wendy's stock.

Banking giant Goldman Sachs is reportedly planning to spin off its proprietary trading unit due to concerns over compliance with the Volcker rule contained in recently passed financial reform legislation.

Morgan Stanley Capital Group agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle accusations that a gasoline supplier it owns gouged consumers last fall during Hurricane Ike, Florida officials announced. The settlement is the largest in Florida history and might be the largest ever, they said.Typically, small...