Morgan Stanley Cuts 600 Jobs in Home-Loan Business (Update2) (Bloomberg.com)
Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest U.S. securities firm, plans to cut 600 jobs after a decline in mortgage-related revenue contributed to lower third-quarter earnings than analysts estimated.

Morgan Stanley Cuts 600 Jobs in Home Loan Business (Update1) (Bloomberg.com)
Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest U.S. securities firm, plans to cut 600 jobs after a decline in mortgage-related revenue led to lower third-quarter earnings than analysts estimated.

Feds target mortgage fraud; 18 charged in S. Florida (Miami Herald)
Mortgage brokers, appraisers, title agents, loan officers and phony buyers took out more than $50 million in fraudulent home loans to buy luxury condos in South Beach and homes in Southwest Ranches, federal prosecutors charged Thursday.

Business Topics (Sun-Sentinel)
A coalition of Colombian-American groups in South Florida is lobbying for the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement.

Political insiders got poverty funds (Miami Herald)
It was the week before Christmas, and William Perry III needed a miracle. A collection agency threatened to take the one-time lobbyist's Miami Shores home in a foreclosure suit to recoup an overdue $100,000 business loan. A critical court hearing on Dec. 17, 2002, was set to decide the case.