Click photo to enlarge
FILE - In this April 22, 2009 file photo, the exterior of eBay offices in San Jose, Calif., is shown. EBay Inc. will release quarterly earnings at the close of the market, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)

Morgan Stanley said Wednesday it lost $1.2 billion in the second quarter as it took charges to cover continuing losses in its real estate investments and its repayment of government bailout money.

The investment bank said it was also hurt for a second straight quarter by an accounting charge related to the rising value of its own debt. Analysts said that although Morgan Stanley's investment banking revenue was strong, its conservative approach to trading hindered its ability to offset the special charges.

Evidence of its caution could been seen in Morgan Stanley's capital ratios, which are among the strongest in the sector. Higher capital ratios indicate Morgan Stanley is holding more cash in reserve and not betting on riskier assets such as competitors that include Goldman Sachs.

Morgan Stanley said its net loss after paying preferred dividends was $1.26 billion, or $1.10 per share. The bank earned $1.06 billion, or $1.02 per share, during the same quarter last year. Underwriting revenues rose 19 percent to $855 million during the quarter.

 

Wells Fargo & Co. joined other big banks in announcing a big second-quarter profit and tempering the news by reporting it is still contending with losses from failed loans. The company said some of its second-quarter loan losses came from the continuing cleanup of the loan portfolio acquired along with struggling Wachovia Corp. in December. Wells Fargo said its earnings

Advertisement
after payment of preferred dividends came to $2.58 billion, or 57 cents per share, up from $1.75 billion, or 53 cents per share, a year earlier, surpassing forecasts. Revenue of $22.5 billion also beat forecasts.

 

The recession continued to hurt eBay Inc. in the second quarter, as earnings and revenue fell amid a sales decline in the main online marketplace, overshadowing growth in its payments and Skype communications units. EBay earned $327.3 million, or 25 cents per share, a 29 percent decrease from $460.3 million, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 5 percent, to $2.1 billion, slightly ahead of analysts' estimates of $1.99 billion.

 

A significant drop in consumer demand slashed second-quarter profit 33 percent at Whirlpool Corp. , the world's largest maker of home appliances, though results were better than analysts expected, and the company brightened its full-year forecast. But Whirlpool's revenue dropped 18 percent to $4.17 billion from $5.08 billion, missing estimates, and investors pushed the stock down $5.59, or 9.9 percent, to close at $50.75. Whirlpool, whose brands include Maytag and KitchenAid, earned $78 million, or $1.04 per share, down from $117 million, or $1.53 per share, a year earlier.

 

Boeing Co. reported a 17 percent rise in second-quarter profit to beat Wall Street expectations, but the airplane maker said it was still assessing the financial impact of the latest delay of its new 787 jetliner.

 

Banking company KeyCorp (parent of Key Banks) posted a narrower second-quarter loss but still missed Wall Street expectations as it continues to build up cash reserves to cover bad loans. The company said its loss attributable to common shareholders was $390 million, or 68 cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.13 billion, or $2.70 per share, during the same period in 2008.