In a research note to investors, Ms. Roth said that Morgan's credit quality was a "highlight of the quarter" but that its earnings shortfall bodes poorly for the bank if a tougher operating environment emerges in the future.
"This is a very tough operating environment for us, and we're not alone," Howard Schultz, the company's chief executive, said in an interview.
In lowering its rating for Citigroup, Lehman Brothers said that "although we believe a material decline in the share price is unlikely from the current level, we believe the shares are likely to underperform near term due to the implications of a very tough operating environment, economic uncertainty and significant headline risk".
"It's a very tough operating environment, especially considering the low income of the general population and the regulators' desire to keep the rates low and ignore the needs of the company to invest in upgrading," Vitaly Lee, the AES country director, said in an interview in his office here.
"The first-quarter declines in equity prices and short-term interest rates have made this an increasingly tough operating environment," he said.
But he, too, sees an upside: The tough operating environment has forced producers like himself and Ms. Snider deeper into the moviemaking process.
We used the portable version, which is installed in an 'Explorer' case for tough operating conditions (pictures of the device are available in [45]).
That aside, we believe that these results reflect the fact that Aquarius has had a solid year given the tough operating environment.
Burberry's house broker Bank of America Merrill Lynch said: "In our view the market should reward Burberry for the continuation of its double-digit revenue growth in the first half, given the tough operating environment and bearish sentiment".
