Merrill Lynch

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3 More Wall Street Firms Agree to Buy Back Securities

Settlement reached after auction-rate securities market collapse

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank have agreed to a settlement with New York's attorney general and other state regulators to buy back $14.5 billion of now worthless auction-rate securities. The brokerages will also pay $162 million in fines to settle charges that they misled investors into thinking...

Lehman Shops Key Unit in Quest for Cash

The troubled Wall Street firm is taking offers for its strong fund management wing

(Newser) - Lehman Brothers is shopping a piece of its investment management unit, the Wall Street Journal reports, joining other large banks in shedding strong-performing businesses to offset mortgage meltdown losses. Lehman’s management business, which includes Neuberger Berman and hosts 27 mutual funds managing $22 billion in individual and institutional wealth,...

Cuomo Raises Pressure on Merrill
Cuomo Raises Pressure
on Merrill

Cuomo Raises Pressure on Merrill

He says company faces lawsuit over auction-rate securities

(Newser) - With Wachovia locked in to buying back $9 billion in auction-rate securities from clients, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has his sights set next on finance titans Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg reports. Cuomo says Merrill faces an "imminent" lawsuit after offering to buy back $10 billion...

UBS Agrees to $19.4B Auction-Rate Bond Buy-Back

(Newser) - UBS, pressured by state and federal authorities, has agreed to buy back $19.4 billion in risky auction-rate securities that were widely sold as cash-like and safe, the Boston Globe reports. The market for the securities, which are a type of bond sold by non-profits, art institutions and local governments,...

Merrill Panic May Mark Bottom of Stock Market
Merrill Panic May Mark Bottom of Stock Market
analysis

Merrill Panic May Mark Bottom of Stock Market

Once regaled for cavalier confidence, CEO's chief cuts losses

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain has seen better days, Floyd Norris writes in the New York Times. He's gone from “cockiness to capitulation. Distinction to desperation.” Thain recently unloaded a bundle of his company’s securities for 22 cents on the dollar and raised $8.5 billion from...

Lone Star Buys Big at Mortgage Fire Sale

Texas fund grabs $6.7B in Merrill castoffs, is hungry for more

(Newser) - Lone Star Fund is looking to profit from the castoffs of the credit meltdown, buying billions of marked-down assets and betting on just some of them to rebound, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Dallas-based private-equity firm run by John Grayken has closed a deal on $6.7 billion in...

Financials Key Big Turnaround
 Financials Key Big Turnaround 
MARKETS

Financials Key Big Turnaround

Surge by BofA, lower oil prices key rally that erases previous day's tumble

(Newser) - Investors, cheered by Merrill Lynch’s attempt to regain its financial footing, plowed ahead today despite ugly news on housing prices and consumer confidence, the Wall Street Journal reports. The rally helping the major indices recoup yesterday’s losses—and then some. The Dow was up 266.48 to 11,...

Merrill Aims to Raise $8.5B, Prune Bad Debt

Brokerage announces surprise stock sale, $5.7B writedown

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch announced a surprise stock offering today aimed at raising $8.5 billion for the brokerage, strapped by the mortgage and credit crises, the Financial Times reports. It also said it was writing down a further $5.7 billion in bad debt, and is selling collateralized debt obligations nominally...

Mixed Note Caps Big Week
 Mixed Note Caps Big Week 
MARKETS

Mixed Note Caps Big Week

Dow sees modest gains, Nasdaq loses; all indices post weekly gains

(Newser) - The markets were mixed today as poor results across the tech sector and from Merrill Lynch put the brakes on a two-day rally, MarketWatch reports. Good news from Citigroup kept the Dow buoyant, and it closed up 49.91, at 11,496.57. The tech-heavy Nasdaq took a 29.52-point...

Citi Losses Shrink in 2nd Quarter, Beat Expectations

Rounds out week of better-than-expected results

(Newser) - Citibank delighted shareholders today by losing a mere $2.5 billion in the second quarter, the Wall Street Journal reports. Analysts had expected much worse from the US’ biggest bank by assets, but Citi beat expectations by reducing writedowns and slashing jobs. The results should prove a counterweight to the...

Merrill Posts $4.65B Loss in Dismal 2nd Quarter

Third biggest American firm posts dismal second quarter

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch posted a second-quarter loss of $4.65 billion late yesterday, more than twice the second-quarter loss analysts had expected and one of the worst in the brokerage's history. The firm took a hit of $9.7 billion in credit-market writedowns, reports Bloomberg, on top of some $30 billion...

Merrill Quits Talks to Move to Ground Zero

Financially struggling brokerage backs out of delayed, over-budget project

(Newser) - Years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget, the project to rebuild Ground Zero took another blow as struggling brokerage Merrill Lynch—projected as an anchor tenant for one of four planned office buildings—ended talks with the Port Authority and developer Larry Silverstein, reports the New York Times.

WTC Project Years Behind, Billions Over

Memorial unlikely to be ready for 10th anniversary of 9/11

(Newser) - The problem-plagued World Trade Center rebuilding project will be completed years behind schedule and up to $3 billion over budget, reports the Wall Street Journal. Construction of the various elements of the $15 billion complex—which includes a sprawling 9/11 memorial, office towers, a performing arts center, and a transportation...

Financials Key Downward Spiral
 Financials Key Downward Spiral 
MARKETS

Financials Key Downward Spiral

Executive shuffles at WaMu, Wachovia give market jitters

(Newser) - Financials keyed major market losses as high-level personnel shuffles at Wachovia and Washington Mutual, plus a report by Standard and Poor that downgraded the ratings of several prominent banks, disconcerted investors, MarketWatch notes. The Dow lost 134.50 to settle at 12,503.82, and the Nasdaq lost 31.13,...

Are Wall Street Banks Ready to Risk Again?

Return to corporate bonds among likely signs crisis is easing

(Newser) - Wary investors appear to be returning to Wall Street, the Journal reports, buying back into higher-risk debt issues from the likes of troubled Citigroup and Merrill Lynch. “Risk taking has come back in the market,” said one expert.

Merrill's Strength Leads Rally
 Merrill's Strength Leads Rally 
MARKETS

Merrill's Strength Leads Rally

Good news from broker overshadows poor housing news

(Newser) - Stocks rallied to solid gains today as good news from Merrill Lynch and better-than-expected jobless claims data overshadowed poor housing and durable-goods news, MarketWatch reports. The Dow gained 85.73 to close at 12,848.95, while the Nasdaq rose 23.71 to 2,428.92. The S&P 500...

Stocks Flat After Day in Red
 Stocks Flat After Day in Red 
MARKETS

Stocks Flat After Day in Red

Mixed data leads to seesaw after Wednesday's rally

(Newser) - The Dow ticked up 1.22 points to close at 12,620.49 today, after a flood of mixed earning reports mostly kept stocks down during the session. One analyst was impressed the market didn’t dip, saying it “seems to be holding up relatively well, especially after yesterday’...

Merrill Lynch Posts Steep Q1 Loss
Merrill Lynch
Posts Steep
Q1 Loss

Merrill Lynch Posts Steep Q1 Loss

$9B in writedowns guts brokerage's earnings

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch today posted nearly $2 billion in losses in the first quarter, after taking another $9 billion in writeoffs, the Wall Street Journal reports. In its third straight quarterly loss, Merrill was in the red $1.96 billion, or $2.19 a share, compared to earning $2.16 billion,...

Merrill Braces for $6B-$8B in New Writedowns

Subprime woes mean unprecedented third consecutive losing quarter for brokerage

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch is likely to report another $6 billion to $8 billion in writedowns related to the subprime collapse tomorrow, leading to a third consecutive quarterly loss, the Wall Street Journal reports. Merrill’s chronic mortgage losses—$30 billion and counting—show just how deep the world's largest brokerage is...

UBS Posts $12B Quarterly Loss; Chairman Steps Down
 UBS Posts $12B Quarterly Loss; Chairman Steps Down
Earnings Report

UBS Posts $12B Quarterly Loss; Chairman Steps Down

Swiss bank adds $19 billion in writedowns; chairman steps down

(Newser) - UBS announced a $12.1 billion first-quarter loss and another $19 billion in writedowns as fallout from the US subprime meltdown continued to haunt the Swiss banking giant, reports Bloomberg. Chairman Marcel Ospel, who oversaw the creation of the bank in 1998 will step down. UBS says it will ask...

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