What to make of this? David Topper's jump from Morgan Stanley to JPMorgan Chase is merely the latest high-profile defection for Phil Purcell to grapple with. Equities is an important business for Morgan. Besides Topper, John Havens, who headed the group, and a number of top traders have decamped, according to the Associated Press. You get the feeling there will be more to come. The issue is whether Morgan's crown jewel banking operations will suffer as a result. The bank is scrambling, announcing the hiring of seven executive directors for the trading unit.

> Here's the Associated Press article.
> Meanwhile, the Grumpy Old Men wooed the Council of Institutional Investors. Article