Morgan Stanley was accused of using “pump and dump” tactics to manipulate European bond markets and stave off a $20 million loss after its bets on the French sovereign turned sour amid the Greek debt crisis. The bank’s London desk was long on French bonds and short on German debt, betting the spread would narrow, said Bernard Field, an official at the Autorite des Marches Financiers. But the opposite scenario played out as Greece’s impasse with creditors deepened, causing the desk to lose $6 million on June 15, 2015 and an extra $8.7 million at market open the next day, Field said. To narrow its losses and avoid ... (full story)