Inside a 'big short' bet against malls that's heating up: Investors are claiming big wins, and a research analyst who said the wagers were misguided is out

· The senior research analyst who helped defend AllianceBernstein's $4 billion bet on an index tied to a pool of increasingly-risky mortgage securities is leaving the firm.
· Brian Phillips, a 14-year veteran at AllianceBernstein, will be taking a job on the West Coast with Pacific Life and said his departure had nothing to do...