Trading gets harder for top firms

Lehman Brothers lost money trading on 40 days in the first half of this year, up from just three days last year, reports Financial News Online. Morgan Stanley lost money on 24 days versus just one a year ago. Goldman Sachs lost money on 37 days compared with 11 a year ago. It seems that prop trading is that much more precarious in these turbulent times. The biggest daily loss at Lehman was $312 million, compared with $25 million last year. Morgan has also had some high profile miscues, notably a rogue trader in London. The stakes are high no doubt. You would think that, like hedge funds, trading would be able to benefit form rising and declining markets. We've long been conditioned to believe that volatility is the friend of trading outfits, but that really doesn't seem to be the case. The credit crisis is turning a lot of thinking on its head.  

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