Monday's Headlines: Morgan Stanley's Ready to Fight for LOWER Bonuses

The era of hero bankers may be coming to a close. At least that's the harsh reality with Morgan Stanley boss James Gorman plans to confront top-paid bankers with as the firm prepares to dole out bonuses in the weeks ahead. Gorman plans to play "hardball" this year and is bracing to have some "difficult conversations" with bankers about scaling back big bonuses, and perhaps their egos as well. [NY Post]

Worried that lawmakers will allow taxes to rise for the wealthiest Americans beginning next year, financial firms are discussing whether to move up their bonus payouts from next year to this month. [NY Times]

D.E. Shaw aims to capture more money from Japanese pension funds by adding staff and offering alternative investments such as hedge funds. The money manager, whose Tokyo office has just two employees, plans to hire or relocate staff from other parts of the world. [Bloomberg]

The SEC is considering two former agency officials to fill the year-old vacancy at the top of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. [Bloomberg]