Briefs: Renown exec leaves Morgan Stanley

NEW YORK -- Zoe Cruz, 52, regarded as perhaps the most powerful woman executive on Wall Street and one of the most powerful in corporate America, retired Thursday as co-president of Morgan Stanley, following 25 years at the investment bank. She leaves three weeks after Morgan Stanley revealed $3.7 billion in losses on subprime mortgage trades in September and October. The company's shares are down 23 percent this year. Her departure also came just three weeks after a person familiar with the situation said Chief Executive John Mack, 63, had named her the leading candidate to eventually succeed him.

White House dims economic forecast

WASHINGTON -- The deteriorating housing market forced the White House to lower its projection for economic growth next year and raise its forecast for unemployment. Inflation was expected to moderate. The new forecast came as the Commerce Department reported Thursday the economy barreled ahead in the summer at a 4.9 percent growth rate, the strongest showing in four years. That impressive performance, however, wasn't expected to last through the current quarter, given the strains of the housing slump and credit crunch.

Foreclosures rising in Illinois

CHICAGO -- Illinois ranked 10th in the nation forhome foreclosures in October, according to a report released Thursday. Across the nation one in every 555 households had a foreclosure filing in October, according to RealtyTrac Inc. The Illinois rate was higher, with one in every 532 households foreclosed. There was good news on the national level where foreclosure rates, while still high, are not increasing. October saw 224,000 foreclosure filings, a 94 percent increase from October 2006 but only 2 percent higher from September. But in Illinois, October saw 9,674 home foreclosure filings, a 25 percent increase from October 2006 and 17 percent higher over September.