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Morgan Stanley seems to be the No. 2 Wall Street firm in more ways than just size. While Goldman Sachs generally pleased investors with earnings that could be read as not too far from expectations, Morgan Stanley on Wednesday posted a far-greater-than-projected loss of $2.4 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter.

The newly christened bank holding company said sliding asset values had driven losses and pledged $2.0 billion in cost-cutting in the coming year.

The New York-based firm lost $2.34 per share for the quarter ended Nov. 30 and posted a full-year deficit of $3.6 billion, or $3.61 per share. Analysts had forecast a loss of only 34 cents per share. Total assets under management fell by 28.0% ,to $546.0 billion year over year and the bank's leverage was reduced significantly to 11.4 from 32.6 according to TradeTheNews.com.

On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) also announced a larger-than-consensus quarterly loss, though it fell within the range of Wall Street's worst forecasts and Wall Street seemed happier with the company's prospects than it did on Wednesday with Morgan's.

Investors pushed Morgan Stanley down 3.9%, or 63 cents, to $15.50, in premarket trading. On Monday, the shares had closed at $13.64, so that’s still a good two-day gain, but the stock traded over $55 less than a year ago. Goldman, by contrast was down only 1.4% Wednesday morning, to $74.95, a $1.05 loss.

Morgan Stanley's dissapointing performance came during a quarter reversals of fortune for once hubris-filled financial industry. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEHMQ - news - people ) and the sale of Merrill Lynch (nyse: MER - news - people ) to Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people ) revealed the weakness of these highly leveraged businesses. The wild swings in markets left only Goldman and Morgan as independent bulge-bracket brokerage houses.

In October, Morgan Stanley spent $23.0 billion to buy securities from money-market and similar funds it manages to cover $46.0 billion in outflows. (See "Morgan Stanley Forked Out $23B To Float Funds") Earlier in the the beleaugered firm received a $9.0 billion investment from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in exchange for a 21.0% stake. (See "Morgan Stanley Can't Please Everyone.") That amount of money would now buy a little more than half of Morgan Stanley.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

The Saudi prince who owns a double-decker "flying palace" and recently raised his bet on Citigroup lost $4 billion in the past year, according to a published report Sunday, showing that even the ultra-rich are getting pinched by the global financial crisis.

The pain is relative, of course. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal remains the world's richest Arab with a net worth of about $17 billion as of Dec. 2, Dubai-based magazine Arabian Business reported in its annual ranking. That is nearly twice as much as the second-richest on the list, but a considerable drop from the $21 billion the magazine said the prince was worth a year ago.

Arabian Business said it based its figure on a direct review of the prince's holdings and a face-to-face meeting with the man who's been dubbed "the Arabian Warren Buffett."

An official at Kingdom Holding Co., Alwaleed's investment company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alwaleed last month announced he would raise his stake in ailing banking giant Citi to 5 percent from less than 4 percent. The move has failed to significantly boost the bank's share price.

The Saudi royal's controlling stake in Kingdom Holding, which invests in well-known companies such as computer maker Apple Inc. and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., accounts for nearly $8 billion of his wealth, the magazine said.

Alwaleed also owns Middle East media company Rotana Holding, and controls more than $3 billion worth of real estate, including a 124 acre personal resort complete with a private zoo.

And then there's the Airbus A380 "superjumbo" jet Alwaleed bought and had outfitted for his personal use. It's valued at $330 million -- a little less than the price tag for his other two jetliners combined.

No. 2 on the list with $9.6 billion is Nasser al-Kharafi, a Kuwaiti businessman who holds the Middle East franchise for chains such as KFC, Hardee's and Pizza Hut. He's also the largest shareholder of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc.

Another prominent name on the list: the Bin Laden family, which makes its money in the construction business. Arabian Business puts the net worth of the clan, which has tried to distance itself from its most notorious member, at $7.2 billion -- good for seventh place.

Altogether, the magazine said the world's 50 richest Arabs lost a combined $25 billion amid the global meltdown, much of it since the end of summer like investors elsewhere.

"The surprise is how much money everyone has lost," Anil Bhoyrul, editorial director of Arabian Business publisher ITP Executive Publishing Ltd., said in an interview. "The list we published is a lot different than the list we originally put together only a few months ago."

SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- A Korean immigrant who lost his wife, two children and mother-in-law when a Marine Corps jet slammed into the family's house said Tuesday he did not blame the pilot, who ejected and survived.

"Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident," a distraught Dong Yun Yoon told reporters gathered near the site of Monday's crash of an F/A-18D jet in San Diego's University City community.

"He is one of our treasures for the country," Yoon said in accented English punctuated by long pauses while he tried to maintain his composure.

"I don't blame him. I don't have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could," said Yoon, flanked by members of San Diego's Korean community, relatives and members from the family's church. Watch Yoon discuss relatives' death »

Authorities said four people died when the jet crashed into the Yoon family's house while the pilot was trying to reach nearby Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Another, unoccupied house also was destroyed.

Yoon named the victims as his infant daughter Rachel, who was born less than two months ago; his 15-month-old daughter Grace; his wife, Young Mi Yoon, 36; and her 60-year-old mother, Suk Im Kim, who he said had come to the United States from Korea recently to help take care of the children.

Fighting back tears, he said of his daughters: "I cannot believe that they are not here right now."

"I know there are many people who have experienced more terrible things," Yoon said. "But, please, tell me how to do it. I don't know what to do."

Marine Corps authorities said the pilot, whose name was not released, was hospitalized after he parachuted from the jet, and an investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched.

The jet had just performed landing training on a Navy aircraft carrier before the pilot reported having trouble, according to the Marine Corps. Authorities described the jet as disabled.

Three bodies -- those of two adults and an infant -- were recovered hours after the crash on Monday. The fourth body -- that of a child -- was recovered Tuesday as firefighters sifted through the rubble of the Yoon house.

Authorities said they did not expect to find any other victims of the crash.

Yoon's minister, Daniel Shin, told reporters the Yoon family had moved into the house a little more than a month ago. He said Yoon came to the United States in 1989 and had since become a naturalized citizen. Yoon works as manager of "a variety store -- a store where they sell a variety of things," Shin said.

Yoon's wife came to the United States about four years ago, Shin said.

Yoon spoke softly when he talked about his wife.

"It was God's blessing that I met her about four years ago. She was a lovely wife and mother," he said.

His voice fading, he added: "She loves me and babies. I just miss her so much."

The Marine Corps said Tuesday it would take "a minimum of five to seven working days" to clean up the crash site.

San Diego resident Ian Lerner said he was heading to lunch at a shopping center about a half-mile from the neighborhood of about 20 homes when he saw the jet flying low.

"It was, oh, gosh, maybe a couple of hundred feet off the ground. And it was quiet; I think the engine was off," Lerner said.iReport.com: See Lerner's photos

"Then all of a sudden, we saw the canopy of the jet explode and go up, and then we saw the pilot blast out of the plane and the parachute open," Lerner said. Watch a witness describe the pilot's main concern »

Another witness said the jet was flying at a low altitude and "just spiraled, right out of [the movie] 'Top Gun.' "

A photograph taken at the crash site showed the pilot, after ejection, sitting on the front lawn, making a call on his cell phone before he was taken to a hospital. Watch burning debris near crash site »

The pilot was the only occupant of the two-seat aircraft, according to the Marine Corps.

The Union-Tribune spoke with Steve Diamond, a retired naval aviator who said he found the pilot in a tree behind a house. He told the paper he helped the man, who Diamond said was a lieutenant in his 20s, down from the tree. See satellite photo showing crash site, airfield »

The pilot told him that after he lost power in one engine, it was decided he would try to get the jet to Miramar on the single working engine, Diamond told the paper.

The pilot was in communication with military air traffic controllers before the jet crashed about two miles from the airfield, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the pilot ejected moments before the crash and landed in a tree. Jason Widmer said he talked to the pilot, who said he had tried to steer the jet from the homes and into a brushy canyon.

"He was pretty shook up and pretty concerned if he had killed anyone," Widmer told San Diego 6. "He had seen his bird go into a house."

A retired general, a pilot who has flown for 40 years and more than 270 missions in Vietnam, said the decision to eject is up to the pilot. F/A-18D planes are very dependable, but any aircraft is subject to error.

That model has two engines, and it can operate with one engine. But if one engine malfunctions, it's possible that a blade can break off and fly into the other engine, causing it to malfunction, too. If both engines are inoperable and the plane descends below 10,000 feet, it's likely the pilot will soon lose control.

When the pilot pulls a ring-like lever, a series of automatic actions is set off: The pilot's harness comes loose, and he is pushed through a canopy, which is rigged to facilitate him breaking through it without causing injury. A pilot can opt to manually activate his parachute, but if he doesn't, the parachute will open on a timer.

The plane would crash randomly once the pilot is no longer in control. See photos of fiery crash site »

Inside a house in the neighborhood, Robert Johnson sat in his living room with his daughter, Heather Certain, and her 2-year-old son, Nicholas, according to the Union-Tribune. They heard the explosion and then saw a giant fireball in the picture window facing their front yard, the newspaper reported. They ran out of the house. Watch aerial footage of crash site »

"The house shook like an earthquake," Johnson said. "I saw the flames right there in front of my house."

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A "lost" Beatles track recorded in 1967 and performed just once in public could finally be released, according to Paul McCartney.

"Carnival of Light" -- a 14-minute experimental track recorded at the height of the Beatles' musical experimentations with psychedelia and inspired by avant-garde composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen -- has long been considered too adventurous for mainstream audiences.

In an interview for BBC radio, McCartney said his bandmates and their producer George Martin had vetoed its inclusion on the exhaustive 1990s "Anthology" collection, according to UK's The Observer newspaper.

McCartney confirmed he still owned the master tapes, adding that he suspected "the time has come for it to get its moment," The Observer reported. "I like it because it's the Beatles free, going off piste," McCartney said.

Almost everything recorded by the Beatles from their early days in Liverpool and Hamburg to their break-up in 1970 has been released to meet insatiable public appetite for anything to do with the legendary Liverpool quartet.

In the 40 years since its recording, "Carnival of Light" has acquired near mythical status among Beatles fans who argue that the existence of the track provides evidence of the group's experimental ambitions beyond their commercially successfully pop career.

The improvised work features distorted electric guitars, discordant sound effects, a church organ and gargling interspersed with McCartney and John Lennon shouting random phrases like "Barcelona" and "Are you all right?"

McCartney would need the consent of Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and George Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison, to release the trac

It was worse than Wall Street expected. (GM) lost a colossal $4.2 billion. But more dire is the company's cash burn of $6.9 billion, which has GM delaying some new models, cutting deeper into costs and—most important—putting a possible acquisition of rival Chrysler on the back burner.

The dismal results, which were driven by plummeting sales amid a recession and credit crunch (BusinessWeek.com, 11/3/08), show just how precarious GM's financial position is. Without an injection of funds or a bridge loan from the government, GM's $16.2 billion in cash could shrink this year to the minimum the company needs to run the business, which analysts estimate to be between $10 billion and $12 billion.

And the picture could get even uglier. GM announced a series of cuts to save $5 billion in cash, but even with those moves the company could run short in the first half of next year. Standard & Poor's cut GM's credit rating (BusinessWeek.com, 11/7/08), to CCC+ from B- on Friday, citing the company's accelerated cash burn rate. "We expect cash outflows to quickly reduce the company's liquidity during the next few quarters, perhaps to levels that would force GM to consider a financial restructuring, even if it does not file for bankruptcy," said S&P in a statement.

If GM can't complete asset sales, raise money in the financial markets, or get government assistance, the company will be short next year. A financial collapse isn't out of the question.