Legg Mason, Lazard and Moody’s

Legg Mason Inc. and Lazard Ltd. both posted third-quarter losses today, while ratings giant Moody’s Investors Service saw profits drop. Legg Mason reported a net loss of $103.8 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, for its fiscal-2009 second quarter, which ended Sept. 30, compared with net income of $177.5 million, or $1.23 per diluted share, in the year-ago period. The Baltimore-based money manager attributed the quarterly loss in large part to charges of $191.1 million, or $1.35 per diluted share, from support for money market funds that suffered from a lack of liquidity. Legg Mason’s assets under management Sept. 30 were $841.9 billion, down 9% from the year-ago period. Lazard posted a net loss of $77 million, or 17 cents share, compared with a profit of $40.3 million, or 73 cents a share, a year earlier. The New York-based financial advisory firm’s first quarterly loss since going public in 2005 stemmed in large part due to booking a $192.1 million one-time after-tax charge in connection with its purchase of equity units on Lazard Asset Management LLC that it did not already own. Lazard’s assets under management at the end of the third quarter were $113.3 billion, a 20% decrease from a year earlier. Moody’s posted a 17% third-quarter-profit drop due to the credit crisis and decreasing demand for new bond ratings. The New York-based credit-rating company saw third-quarter net income fall to $113 million, or 47 cents a share, from $136.9 million, or 52 cents a share, in the year-ago period.