According To Charlie Gasparino: Stan O’Neal Is Getting Fired For 5 Reasons

By Bess Levin

stanoneal.jpg
1. The whole firm hates him.
2. He took risks.
3. That strategy turned out to be a bad one.
4. He left the office early to go return some videotapes.
5. Posing for that picture.
Charlie also added a reason why O’Neal *isn’t* (or shouldn’t be) getting fired: because he tried to merge Merrill with Wachovia. And if he does get fired for trying to merge with Wachovia? According to Gasparino, “It’ll be a bigger story than the Ping Jiang hormones deal.” Not as big as Epstein and the tranny, but big, still. Robert McCann and Greg Fleming are the mostly likely candidates to take over.
Merrill’s O’Neal Adieu by Weekend [CNBC]

Comments (17)

  1. 1
    Posted by watchmen | October 26, 2007 at 8:21 AM

    If Charlie Gasparino says it…..you can damn near bet the farm on it. Watch for yet another mishandler of investment monies to be taking an African Safari.

  2. 2
    Posted by ues75 | October 26, 2007 at 8:27 AM

    i hope that NYT article didnt have the “a wachovia spokesperson declined comment” line twice in the print version too

  3. 3
    Posted by just me | October 26, 2007 at 8:28 AM

    Thats not so bad …. at least he didnt try to merge with Toll Bros to make their mortgage loan operations efficient.

  4. 4
    Posted by Chris | October 26, 2007 at 8:29 AM

    Christ – it’s the first sign of the apocalypse!! Bess in the office before 9.

  5. 5
    Posted by chris | October 26, 2007 at 8:32 AM

    I admire ML’s racial, gender and species diversification. James Watt would be proud.

  6. 6
    Posted by Reed Hypothecation | October 26, 2007 at 8:34 AM

    Bess – what’s with the early entry ? If you were bored last night, you should have texted me.

  7. 7
    Posted by J$ | October 26, 2007 at 8:50 AM

    C-Gasp really ripped into O’Neal yesterday morning on CNBC. He didn’t have the picture then, tho’. And what’s this about Wachovia??? Crap x Crap = that much more crap. He should be taking a trip to China / Middle East to shop out a stake.

  8. 8
    Posted by Anonymous | October 26, 2007 at 8:52 AM

    MER bankers must be eating their hats right about now.

  9. 9
    Posted by Anonymous | October 26, 2007 at 9:11 AM

    Bloomberg reporting that O’Neill has told friends he will leave.

  10. 10
    Posted by Anonymous | October 26, 2007 at 9:16 AM

    *O’NEAL PRIVATELY CONCEDES HE WILL BE OUT BY WEEKEND, CNBC SAYS
    *MERRILL’S O’NEAL TELLS FRIENDS THAT HE WILL LEAVE, CNBC SAYS

  11. 11
    Posted by AnonC | October 26, 2007 at 9:31 AM

    Why couldn’t Chuck Prince at least have the same amount of class and do the same thing?

  12. 12
    Posted by Calgary Schmooze | October 26, 2007 at 9:38 AM

    I told you guys back in early August that there were Muppets on Wall Street. Then we saw Beaker and his Muppet Labs Quant Fund flame out… now this…
    Next thing you know, someone will be comparing the wide-eyed shock of young, relatively-new-grad, currently-unemployed financial “wizards” to the wide-eyed shock of young, relatively-new-grad, (possibly-still-)unemployed tech “wizards” of a few years ago.
    “How could this happen to us?!? We were told we were invincible and unstoppable!”

  13. 13
    Posted by ko | October 26, 2007 at 10:00 AM

    BUAHAHAHAHA…Bess wasn’t the only one in early this AM–and now i know her secret to power-blogging.
    My MD originally thought i was in early because bonus season before realizing where we worked and saying, “we’ll probably have to pay to keep our jobs…so that cant be it.”

  14. 14
    Posted by Christina | October 26, 2007 at 10:10 AM

    Um…who still rents video tapes??

  15. 15
    Posted by Mr. Benson Perella | October 26, 2007 at 10:15 AM

    Christina,
    It’s a reference to American Psycho’s famous character Patrick Bateman, played by Christian Bale.

  16. 16
    Posted by Nebbishy Master of the Universe | October 26, 2007 at 10:19 AM

    There but for the grace of god and off balance sheet accounting go I.

  17. 17
    Posted by Anonymous | October 26, 2007 at 2:06 PM

    christina, don’t get out much, do you…sorry, gotta go, T Boone Pickens just walked in

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