Morgan Stanley tops M&A table

Advisory work on two big drug deals pushed Morgan Stanley to the top of the M&A league tables for the first quarter. The bank advised Wyeth on its $64.5 billion purchase by Pfizer and Schering Plough on its $46 billion takeover by Merck, Reuters notes. Such work allowed it to leap to the top from the 10th spot. Let's hope both deals close.

Goldman Sachs fell from the top spot to fourth. It also advised on both drug deals but also lost out on some big government-investment deals for financial institutions in the U.K. JPMorgan and Citigroup came in second and third, respectively. One big winner, also thanks to the drug deals, was boutique Evercore, which rose to 10th from 42nd. Overall, global M&A activity fell 33 percent to $444 billion in the first quarter, the lowest volume at the start of the year since 2003, Reuters notes. 

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