Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley, the second-largest independent securities firm in the U.S., jumped in late New York trading after members of Congress signaled that the government may create an agency to inject capital into financial companies.
The stock, which had dropped 49 percent in the last eight trading sessions, climbed 3.7 percent to $22.55 at 4:07 p.m. in New York.
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House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, this week proposed Congress create a federal entity to buy bad loans. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, a former candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, proposed resurrecting a 1930s-era agency to stem foreclosures.
``We need a modern day Home Owners' Loan Corporation,'' Clinton said in remarks at the Senate today. ``There will not be any semblance of a normal or orderly market'' without ``quarantining'' the devalued loans outstanding, she said.
Mack's Meeting
Morgan Stanley's Mack, 63, addressed employees this morning in a crowded meeting in New York, saying the firm's earnings and balance sheet were sound, according to people who attended or watched the firm-wide video broadcast. He said Morgan Stanley was in stronger shape than Lehman or Bear Stearns.
Morgan Stanley also blamed short sellers for pushing down the shares. Three U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules that took effect today aim to reduce manipulative trades betting on a drop in share prices.
Chairman Christopher Cox said in a statement late yesterday that the SEC may require hedge funds to disclose their short-sale positions and plans to subpoena the funds for their communication records.
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