Morgan Stanley, banks rush to complete deals

無法笑

Wall Street entered into another round of speed dating, with bankers representing Morgan Stanley and Washington Mutual scrambling to put together deals in the biggest realignment of the financial industry since the 1930s.

Once vaunted investment banks like Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. have lost their independence or been toppled at a breath-taking pace. And for a time on Thursday, fears intensified that the spreading credit crisis threatened to drag down the remaining global financial institutions and Main Street banks alike.

Shares of financial stocks initially plunged, then recovered as part of a dramatic afternoon reversal for most stock indexes after CNBC reported that Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson might back the creation of a new Resolution Trust Corp. to soak up bad loans and defaulted mortgages, their shares reversed course. The RTC was created by the government during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.

Morgan Stanley slumped more than 46 percent in early trading as investors fretted about its ability to quickly find a buyer or cash infusion from a foreign investor. Rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc. skidded 25 percent.

Morgan Stanley shares rallied to close up about 4 percent while Goldman Sach's stock was lower by almost 6 percent. And Washington Mutual Inc. shares soared more than 48 percent.