Morgan Stanley beats the targets

Morgan Stanley posted better-than-forecast fourth-quarter results today, boosted by an uptick in trading. Like other US banks, it paid a smaller part of its revenues to employees as a tighter leash on expenses boosted its bottom line.

The investment bank's income from continuing operations was $573m (£358m) against a loss of $222m the year before. The figures include a big one-off charge. It paid 44 per cent of adjusted revenue to bankers in its securities and investment banking arms, down from 53 per cent the year before.