Morgan Stanley's Fourth-Quarter Earnings Plunge 28%

Updated from 12:24 p.m. EST

Morgan Stanley's (MWD Quote) fourth-quarter earnings fell 28% from a year ago as the recession and terrorist attacks took their toll on its brokerage operation. But the second-largest U.S. securities firm cautiously painted an improved picture for next year.

"While there's not a lot of objective data to suggest this, we feel that trends have bottomed and we're probably going to move up from here," chief financial officer Steve Crawford said in a conference call with reporters. "That will probably show up more in second half in terms of actual revenue contribution, but it feels like there's more stability and health in the markets than there was three months ago."

The investment bank said fourth-quarter earnings were $870 million, or 78 cents a share, compared with earnings of $1.21 billion, or $1.06 a share, in the same period last year. ...