Morgan Stanley's drama continues

The AP reports that Morgan Stanley's top two investment bankers resigned today. This certainly doesn't reduce the pressure on CEO Philip Purcell, who's already given in as far as selling off the Discover card portion. While the board of directors continue to support Purcell, it's important to remember that it's the shareholders' opinions that count most -- and a lot of big shareholders are dissatisfied with Purcell. Not a majority, but a significant minority.

The AP story mentions HSBC as looking to acquire Morgan Stanley. When I was working at a Morgan Stanley retail branch, we heard rumors of Wachovia or Bank of America eyeing us. Who knows?