Friday's Headlines: MF Global Rank-and-File See Hope in Embattled Brokerage

As some analysts count the days left at Jon Cozine's MF Global fund, some rank-and-file employees remain committed to the brokerage, according to a DealBook article today.

According to the article, within MF Global's offices in Midtown Manhattan, the mood among the rank and file has been tense but defiant. Many employees have been working through the night talking to clients concerned about the speculation about the firm.

The firm's chief executive, Jon S. Corzine, has held several firmwide conference calls to disseminate talking points on the company's financial strength, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Many lower-level employees say they believe that talk about the firm's troubles is overblown, and some have even bet on a comeback by buying MF Global shares for their personal accounts, this person said.

The fund recently suffered downgrades by Fitch and Moody's and a warning from Standard & Poor's. The firm has $6.3 billion exposed to European debt.

Other News:

MetLife's Q3 profit surged 10-fold on derivative bets. [Businessweek]

Nomura may report its first loss in 10 quarters next week as Daiwa Securities sees investment banking income tumble. [Bloomberg]

Private equity firm Golden Gate Capital closed its latest fund at $3.5 billion. [DealBook]

Boutique investment bank Evercore posted a Q3 profit up 35 percent. [NY Times]

SAC Capital has added four portfolio managers in Asia this year and plans to open a Tokyo office in 2012. [Bloomberg]

Big banks decide not to charge customers debit card fees. [WSJ]

TD Ameritrade Institutional has attracted a record number of breakaway brokers to its custody platform. [Investment News]

Defunct Australian hedge fund Basis Capital sued Goldman for $1 billion on charges related to collateralized debt. [WSJ]

The SEC shut down a Boston advisory firm for false claims of operating as a hedge fund. [Hedge Fund Net]

The rich are more interested in increasing their wealth than maintaining what they have. [Bloomberg]