Profits at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley plunge

The logo for Goldman Sachs above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (Richard Drew/AP)

The profits for two major Wall Street firms – Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley – plunged sharply last quarter as volatile markets cut deeply into investment banking.

Goldman’s profits tumbled 66% to 1.33 billion dollars (£1.08 billion) in the fourth quarter, it said on Tuesday, well below what Wall Street had expected.