Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley brace for another bad quarter
Posted: 08:05 AM ET
By David Ellis
CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The hits just keep on coming for Wall Street.

Later this month, the once venerated investment banks Goldman Sachs and
Morgan Stanley will reveal their results for the fourth quarter and full year.

Neither firm has set a date for the reports, but most industry trackers
are betting the numbers will be abysmal, particularly for Goldman Sachs.

A growing number of analysts have slashed their estimates for the New
York City-based bank in recent weeks, saying they expect it to report a loss of
about $900 million, or $1.82 a share, its first loss ever since the company
went public in 1999.

A month ago, analysts anticipated the company would report a profit of
$2.35 a share, according to Thomson Reuters.

And there are concerns that the losses could be even higher. Citing
industry insiders, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Goldman Sachs
could book a quarterly net loss of as much as $2 billion, or $5 a share for the
quarter.

Morgan Stanley, on the other hand, is expected to remain in the black,
booking a profit of nearly $94 million, or just 3 cents a share. Even though
that is a dramatic reversal of last year’s $3.59 billion loss - a first for the
firm - analysts have also steadily cut their earnings estimates for the firm in
recent weeks. The consensus estimate was for a profit of 58 cents a share a
month ago.