Morgan Stanley (MS) CEO Clairvoyant As Usual

John Mack, who has run every investment bank on Wall St, and is now CEO of Morgan Stanley (MS) says the next few quarters will be tough for the financial markets. Mack believes the United States is nearing the end of the subprime mortgage crisis he told Reuters.

The interesting thing is that Mack would have no way to know when the crisis will end. If the recession deepens and housing defaults keep rising, the trouble could continue well into next year.

Mack may also be a poor forecaster. His firm did put billions of dollars into mortgage-backed paper which he and his managers thought would make a great deal of money. Bad guess.

Douglas A. McIntyre