Europe invasion stymied; Wall Street firms cut back overseas; hopes for countercyclical help dashed.(Brief Article)

Crain's New York Business, April, 2001 by Gandel, Stephen

When Morgan Stanley shipped Richard Kauffman from New York to London a year ago, the investment bank said the move showed the firm's increased emphasis on Europe. Mr. Kauffman was one of the firm's heavyweights. He had headed Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.'s capital markets group since 1993 and, in his last full year in the States, helped elevate Morgan Stanley to the top-ranked underwriter of initial public offerings.

His task was to pull off the same feat in Europe, where Morgan Stanley's equity business was growing fastest. ``Europe is the new old thing,'' said Mr. Kauffman at the time of his move. Now, such enthusiasm seems clearly unwarranted. Deals in Europe have plunged, forcing many firms to reverse course and cut back on their staffs....

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