Chase CEO William B. Harrison, Jr. is betting that investing in tech companies will raise his p/e ratio. And that could help him buy a big investment bank. Could Morgan Stanley be a target?

Chase Manhattan Corp. has become one of the foremost cheerleaders of the Internet within the banking community. And it's using its spectacular success in high-tech last year as part of a campaign to convince investors that its stock deserves a higher price. "I got converted-I became a believer" in the power of the New Economy, says William B. Harrison Jr., chairman and chief executive. It's pretty easy to be enthusiastic when you reported $1.3 billion from investment gains, mainly in ...