Reggie Middleton

Morgan Stanley Appears a Little Too Desperate for Cash

I have nothing out for MS at all (they were my blog's first corporate subscribers). I was, and am, short and bearish on MS for nearly a year, thus I just state the facts as my independent research bears them out - something that is hard to come by these days. Do a search on my blog for GGP and you will see a similar and very interesting story coming to its final conclusion.

Define "cash-like" assets. Is that like the reserve fund money market product that was just frozen and is the subject of this article? Or is it like the alleged "liquid assets" that JP Morgan held in custody for Lehman right before they froze those actually illiquid assets and sent Lehman into bankruptcy over the weekend (I sure hope Morgan doesn't clear through JP Morgan!).

"That leaves them with $180 billion, more than enough to cover all of their Level 3 assets, senior unsecured debt, preferred securities, and liquidity 6 months into the future."

How do you know that when so much is stuffed away in unconsolidated VIEs, consolidated but opaque VIEs, and other SPEs?

Do you have an insider track to MSs off balance sheet activities that I may have overlooked?

Come on over to the BoomBust where we go through these companies' numbers with a fine tooth comb that features a built-in radio microscope :-)