The odds of two major and relatively young bankers dying unexpectedly are quite slim. I believe Uncle Jimmy warned us of such events.

Regards - VHF

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Bank Julius Baer CEO dies unexpectedly

Friday December 5, 2008, 9:44 am EST

By Katie Reid

ZURICH (Reuters) - Alex Widmer, the chief executive of Bank Julius Baer and a well respected figure in Swiss private banking, has died unexpectedly at the age of 52, the bank said.

A source told Reuters he had been informed by close friends of Widmer's family that the banker had committed suicide.

Swiss news website 20Minuten cited two unnamed independent sources as saying it was a case of suicide.

Swiss police declined to comment on the death.

Julius Baer, Switzerland's biggest dedicated wealth manager which has roots dating back to the 19th century, is based in Zurich and manages more than 360 billion Swiss francs ($300.8 billion) in assets for rich individuals and institutions.

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Morgan Stanley (MS) M&A Head Dead At 47

Mon Dec 8, 2008 6:19am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - Gavin MacDonald, the head of mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley, has died. He was 47.

MacDonald died on Friday evening, after suffering a heart attack at Morgan Stanley's offices in Canary Wharf, London, earlier last week, Morgan Stanley spokesman Michael Wang said.

A founding member of Morgan Stanley's European M&A team, MacDonald had worked on a string of multi-billion dollar deals, and became global head of M&A in 2007 -- the first London-based banker to hold that role for the Wall Street firm.

"Gavin was an extremely decent, universally liked, funny, selfless and deeply valued man. He was also a close and generous friend to many of us," Morgan Stanley Chief Executive John Mack said in a company-wide message. "He will be greatly missed."