MS wrote down and cut back aggressively last year. Those preventive measures pay off now. This contrasts to LEH, which just started big write-down in its last Qtrly report.

MS will solidify its leader position (still behind GS though) in this round of financial debacles.

Best positioned financial firms are still WFC (bank), GS (Brokerage), JPM (financail super market), BLK (asset mgmt), SCHW (discount retail). Watch the leaders closely to identify trend. Once trend is determined, you may choose to play any stock to make money. If the trend is aganst you, it is laways hard to make money.

YMYD