NEW YORK -- Morgan Stanley posted its third straight quarterly loss Wednesday, as the brokerage firm struggles to bounce back from last fall's market meltdown. New York-based Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) lost $1.26 billion in the quarter ended last month. That compares with a year-ago profit of $1.06 billion, or $1.02 a share a year ago. The company said that its net loss from continuing op.. more

NEW YORK� -- U.S. stocks were poised for a lower open Wednesday as the upbeat sentiment surrounding corporate earnings seemed to run its course and investors looked to results from Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. At 7:10 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were lower. Futures measure current index values against their perceived future perfor.. more

DETROIT -- Detroit is one of America's largest cities, but there isn't a single grocery chain store within the city limits. Spurned by national retailers, Detroit's nearly 1 million residents instead rely on independent stores run by local entrepreneurs for their most basic needs. But for those entrepreneurs, staying in business can be a struggle. Running a grocery store "requires a lot of work.. more

NEW YORK -- Dear Annie: My son is going to graduate from college in December with a B.S. in computer science, and I am just wondering about the IT job market. On the one hand, we keep hearing about layoffs and outsourcing, but on the other hand, everything runs on computers now, so surely there must be some good tech jobs in this country, especially at the (relatively cheap) entry level. Is there.. more

(Fortune Small Business) -- How many employees have you let go this year? This month? How many more will you have to lay off next month? U.S. companies with fewer than 50 employees shed 904,000 jobs during the first four months of 2009, according to the ADP National Employment Report. Being laid off is unquestionably a shocking psychological and financial event, but it can be just as traumatic fo.. more

-- After filing for bankruptcy, Chrysler in May notified almost 800 dealers around the U.S. that they would lose their franchise licenses and be kicked out of the restructured automaker's dealer network. Steve Biegler, who runs the dealership his grandfather started, was one of those targeted. Last week, Chrysler sent out representatives to finish dismantling his store's branding. When they took .. more

NEW YORK -- The independent overseer of the $700 billion bailout has caused a ruckus over an important question: How much do taxpayers have on the line? Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said the total amount committed for federal programs supporting companies, industries and consumers affected by the economic meltdown was $23.7 trillion. .. more

WASHINGTON -- The oversight czar tracking the $700 billion bailout told lawmakers Tuesday that he's concerned officials are not doing enough to prevent tax dollars from being wasted or pilfered. Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform committee. Barofsky was being questioned about a con.. more

PRINCETON, N.J. -- An epic takeover battle that began nine months ago with a terse phone call from one giant power-company CEO to another, Exelon's John Rowe to NRG's David Crane, ended today in a Princeton hotel ballroom, when Exelon formally abandoned its hostile bid minutes after NRG shareholders overwhelmingly rejected Exelon's rival slate of board candidates. "That's the end of it," Exelon .. more

(Money Magazine) -- Fear and greed. Those are the emotions that rule the markets, and changes in stock prices simply reflect the swing of the pendulum between the two extremes. Only lately the swings have arrived with more violence than a Transformers movie. First came fear, specifically of a financial system meltdown. That triggered one of the sharpest stock selloffs in history last fall as ban.. more