Market briefing --- Matt (slow)
welcome to “world financial report.” i am matt nesto. morgan stanley as we said, going to pay $54 million to settle a sex bias lawsuit brought by the equal employment opportunity commission. in addition to the monetary penalty, morgan stanley agreed to take “far-reaching steps that include appointing an internal ombudsman on to oversee diversity” and appoint an external monitor in charge of assessing the company’s compliance with diversity initiatives. the firm was accused of systematically denying women the same pay and job opportunities afforded to men since 1995. former bond seller, allison schieffelin, will get $12 million of the $54 million. the case is the first sex bias suit by the eeoc against the wall street bank to begin a trial. a jury of eight women and four men was picked friday and opening statements were about to start when the settlement was suddenly announced. morgan stanley denies it discriminates against female employees. also on the legal beat today, former credit suisse first boston banker frank quattrone has been denied a new trial. quattrone was convicted of obstructing justice and he claims the judge in the trial made errors in the legal instructions to the jury.
