September 15, 2008
Stunning Fall for Main Street’s Brokerage Firm
By LOUISE STORY


It’s the end of an era for Merrill Lynch, the brokerage firm that
brought Wall Street to Main Street.

Merrill, which has lost more than $45 billion on its mortgage
investments, agreed to sell itself to Bank of America for $50.3 billion
in stock, according to people briefed on the negotiations.

It is a remarkable fall from grace for the 94-year-old Merrill, whose
corporate logo — a bull — has long symbolized the fundamental optimism
of Wall Street. After a frantic weekend of talks between Wall Street
executives and federal officials over the fate of the teetering Lehman
Brothers, fear spread on Sunday that Merrill, staggered by losses, might
also falter. The merger would combine Bank of America’s banking and
lending strength with Merrill Lynch’s wealth management expertise.

“It is an enormous shock,” said Steve Fraser, a Wall Street historian
and author of “Wall Street: America’s Dream Palace.”

“Merrill was a kind of bedrock institution whose stability and longevity
was taken for granted and was reassuring to people,” Mr. Fraser said.
“Even in these very highly erratic and speculative marketplaces like
we’ve been living through, you didn’t think Merrill would be vulnerable.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/bu...errill.html?em


These collapses surely are having an impact on the sales of rich boy
boats, I would think. Lehman Bros. filed for bankruptcy today, too.

Hell of an economy, hey, Brownie?