Merrill Lynch

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Trader's $400M Loss Behind Merrill's London 'Irregularity'

(Newser) - A rogue Merrill Lynch trader appears to have posted some $400 million in undisclosed losses in recent months, the Financial Times reports, covering his tracks with the “irregularity” the firm’s London branch is currently investigating. Alexis Stenfors, now suspended, reported $120 million in gains in 2008’s fourth...

Cuomo Subpoenas Merrill's $10M Execs

Payouts may violate securities law

(Newser) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed top executives of Merrill Lynch who got at least $10 million each last year as the bank floundered, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cuomo is investigating whether the payouts violated securities law and wants to know why executives at Merrill and Bank...

Battered Merrill's Top 10 Pocketed $209M

Compensation for top execs higher than in '07, despite firm's massive losses

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch's top 10 earners raked in more than $200 million last year as their company lost $27.6 billion, a Wall Street Journal investigation finds. Eleven execs were each paid at least $10 million in cash and shares, which have now dived in value. A further 149 execs made...

Cuomo Orders BofA to Name Bonus Takers

Subpoena issued after CEO's grilleing by Merrill bonus probe

(Newser) - Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis has been ordered to hand over a full list of Merrill Lynch execs who received bonuses just before the bank took over the company, reports Reuters. Lewis was grilled for hours yesterday in the offices of New York AG Andrew Cuomo, who's looking into...

BofA Boss Ordered to Testify in $3.6B Bonus Probe

Massive perks paid out before pricey bailout

(Newser) - Bank of America chairman Kenneth Lewis has been subpoenaed to testify in the investigation into possible deception of investors over the Merrill Lynch takeover, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is exploring whether the bank broke the law by failing to inform investors of...

Chrysler, Merrill CEOs Passed Houses to Wives, Too

Fuld not the only one hiding assets

(Newser) - Dick Fuld’s wife isn’t the only one getting a discount mansion. Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli and ex-Merrill Lynch honcho Stanley O’Neal have followed Fuld’s lead, handing their multimillion-dollar homes to their spouses, according to property records obtained by the New York Post. Such deed transfers are...

BofA Knew of Merrill's $4B Bonuses

Private bonus agreement backs up Thain's claim that Bank of America was aware of payouts

(Newser) - Ousted Merrill Lynch boss John Thain appears to have been speaking the truth when he said Bank of America knew all about Merrill's controversial December bonuses, the Wall Street Journal reports. A copy of a private bonus agreement obtained by the Journal shows that the two firms agreed on a...

NY AG May Claw Back $4B Merrill Bonuses

Cuomo expands probe into Merrill's handling of pre-takeover handouts

(Newser) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is considering action ordering the return of $4 billion in early bonuses Merrill Lynch handed out to staff just before its bailout-backed takeover by Bank of America, an insider tells Bloomberg. Cuomo has widened his probe into the bonuses and aims to find out...

Ousted Thain Subpoenaed on Early Merrill Bonuses

NY attorney general also calls BoA exec in probe of banks and TARP funds

(Newser) - New York’s attorney general issued a subpoena today to force John Thain to testify about his acceleration of bonus payments for Merrill Lynch employees last month, the Financial Times reports. A subpoena was also issued to a Bank of America executive thought to have consulted with Thain—then Merrill’...

Ousted Thain to Repay $1.2M Spent on Office

Lush renovation was a 'mistake,' says ex-Merrill CEO

(Newser) - Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain says he’ll repay the $1.2 million he spent on office renovations last year, Bloomberg reports. “The expenses were incurred over a year ago in a very different environment,” Thain wrote in a memo to Merrill execs. “They were a...

Wary of Image, Financial A-Listers Ditch Glitzy Davos

Top bankers, Obama advisers to skip Swiss summit

(Newser) - The swanky Davos economic summit was once a top destination for financial and economic power players, but many are skipping the glitz this year for fear of sending the wrong message in a tanking economic climate, Reuters reports. Treasury secretary-designate Timothy Geithner is sitting out the resort event, as are...

Thain Debacle Stings BofA Chief
Thain Debacle Stings
BofA Chief
ANALYSIS

Thain Debacle Stings BofA Chief

(Newser) - John Thain may have lost his job running Merrill Lynch, but woe to the CEO who dared merge with him, the Economist reports. Thain no doubt trashed his reputation by failing to tell BofA chief Ken Lewis about looming losses—and handing out multimillion-dollar bonuses in the meantime—but Lewis,...

Commode for 35K? Ousted CEO Thain Had Lavish Taste

Details emerge on $1.2M office work

(Newser) - Recently-axed Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain may have steered his company to a $15.4 billion fourth-quarter loss, but he did so from a really nice office. Details are emerging about Thain's $1.2 million redecoration, Bloomberg reports. Among the purchases noted by CNBC: $87,000 for area rugs, $68,...

Thain to Leave BofA After Record Losses

(Newser) - Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, who became a top exec at Bank of America when the firms merged last year, will resign from his position, CNBC reports. The move comes a week after Bank of America posted its first quarterly loss in 17 years, widely attributed to poor information...

Madoff Scandal Turns Up Heat on Financial Advisers

Loophole lets Madoff types profit from bad advice, they say

(Newser) - Wall Street advisers and brokers are tussling over the details of a looming regulatory overhaul as Washington takes steps to prevent another Bernard Madoff scandal, Bloomberg reports. Advisers want brokers who counsel clients to be subject to the same oversight they’re under; currently, their brokerage counterparts can profit by...

BofA Takes Another $20B Bailout on $10B Merrill Loss

Crippled by unforeseen losses and falling stock price, B of A puts its hand out. Again.

(Newser) - Bank of America, sucker-punched by unforeseen losses from its takeover of Merrill Lynch, received another injection of $20 billion from the Treasury, the Wall Street Journal reports, bringing the total cost of BofA’s bailout to $45 billion. BofA’s shares shed 40% of their value in the past seven...

Banks Drive Stocks Down Early
 Banks Drive Stocks Down Early 
MARKET OPEN

Banks Drive Stocks Down Early

Investors see bad news everywhere in new data

(Newser) - Stocks dropped at the open today as a surprisingly good JPMorgan quarter struggled to offset other negative economic news, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow was off 108, despite Morgan's 4% surge, as Bank of America plummeted 15% after reports it would need more aid to close the Merrill...

Feds to Give BoA Billions More for Merrill Deal

(Newser) - The feds will have to pony up billions of dollars more to help Bank of America close its deal to purchase Merrill Lynch, the Wall Street Journal reports. BoA already has received $25 billion, but Merrill's massive fourth-quarter losses have thrown a wrench in the acquisition. Henry Paulson is a...

BofA Boss Reluctantly Bags Bonuses
BofA Boss Reluctantly Bags Bonuses

BofA Boss Reluctantly Bags Bonuses

Bridling at political pressure, Lewis nixes cash for top execs

(Newser) - Despite being rankled by political pressure to forgo bonuses for himself and other top Bank of America execs, CEO Kenneth Lewis has asked the board to withhold bonuses for 2008, reports the Wall Street Journal. The company saw its stock fall 66% in 2008 and 3rd-quarter profits plunge 68%, and...

BoA, Wells Fargo Wrap Up Takeovers
BoA, Wells Fargo
Wrap Up Takeovers

BoA, Wells Fargo Wrap Up Takeovers

Tough road ahead for merged financial institutions

(Newser) - Bank of America and Wells Fargo completed their respective takeovers of Merrill Lynch and Wachovia this week, expected developments that close the books on a year of unprecedented change in the banking industry, Reuters reports. The acquisition of Merrill makes BoA the largest US bank by assets, with $2.7...

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