Morgan Stanley, plagued by internal bickering ever since its merger with Dean Witter in 1997, is changing its ticker symbol on Tuesday from MWD to MS. The move is seen as another effort to eradicate corporate strife and more closely align the ticker with the company's name.
When Dean Witter was spun off from Sears along with the Discover Card in 1993 (Sears really did have everything) it adopted the ticker DWD for Dean Witter Discover and Company. DWD, affectionately referred to as "Doo Waa Ditty" by employees, merged with Morgan Stanley in 1997 and became Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The ticker was changed to MWD.
Since the firm dropped Dean Witter from its name completely late in 2001 and is known simply as Morgan Stanley, the new ticker seems appropriate but it's not going to help management solve any of their internal problems.
No comments:
Post a Comment