Morgan Stanley Pinches Pennies

The Wall Street Journal writes that Morgan Stanley offered a glimpse into Wall Street's future, and the outlook has changed so much from the heady days of the past that the firm is planning to keep a close watch on BlackBerry usage.
Morgan Stanley's penny-pinching obsession is a sign of the struggle inside many banks and securities firms to overcome sluggish revenue growth and the looming costs of new regulatory and capital requirements. Banks including Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. have launched cost-cutting efforts, with BofA looking to reduce its branch count by 10%.

For Morgan Stanley, that means monitoring even routine expenses much more closely, ranging from travel to mobile devices. Brokerage clients will be prodded to give up paper account statements for cheaper electronic documents….

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