Morgan Stanley's fate still hangs in the balance (Reuters)

By Joseph A. Giannone 25 minutes ago NEW YORK (Reuters) - Despite its best efforts to fortify its defenses, Morgan Stanley's fate hangs in the balance after the market's relentless assault last week. Come this Tuesday, Morgan Stanley's agreement to sell a 21 percent stake to Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc for $9 billion could be completed. Yet many investors are convinced that Morgan will not make it that long, hammering Morgan's stock price to its lowest in 14 years and valuing the entire company at about $10 billion. Both sides last week insisted the deal would still close as written, but investors are not so sure. At the same time, rising default insurance costs and the plunging price of some debt also raise worries that trading and prime brokerage businesses could be hurt. "It comes down to confidence,"... [read full story]