Merrill Lynch faces an "imminent" lawsuit from New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The attorney general said that his office has "not been able to reach satisfactory terms" with Merrill, which earlier this week offered to buy back some auction rate securities from retail investors.
We're told that the sticking points are Merrill's plans to delay the purchases until next year, Merrill's resistance to reimbursing customers who sold the auction rate securities at a discount and whether or not Merrill should expand the deal to include pension funds.
Perhaps most troubling for Merrill is that Cuomo may sue particular individuals involved in the market for auction rate securities. The other day he said he was not just following the money, but following "the people." Within Merrill Lynch there is a lot of trepidation that the Attorney General could bring lawsuits, and perhaps even criminal charges, against brokers who sold auction rate securities and bankers involved in underwriting.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 1:17PM
Great! They should be sued and individuals should be charged with criminal conduct. What they did was criminal and they should have consequences for their actions versus the same old stuff Wall St always gets away with= "pay a fine and admit no wrongdoing" and then go on to the next scam. Money penalties are just ths cost of doing business for them. They need somthing more---how about some jail time.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 1:55PM
You're an idiot. You have no idea why or how those ARS were sold. It is not like the buyers lost any money, it is just frozen.
If you choose to sell your ARS side-stepping ML why does ML have to give you money?
Let's give jail to everyone, real smart.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 1:57PM
"Cuomo"
... Stopped reading right there.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 3:01PM
How many times a day does Thain regret taking the MER job and think to himself, "Life was better at NYX?"
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 3:10PM
4 Do you honestly believe that? These guys make a ton of money doing essentially the same job everywhere: motivating the troops, developing long term strategies, dealing with and balancing many constituencies. Its a tough job, wherever its done. Plus, guys like Thain love challenges.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 3:50PM
Cuomo is da man -- put a few bankers/brokers in Rikers for a day or two, and the mkt will work pretty damn well. Getting fired or getting a small bonus will be a welcome respite from Rikers.
hahaha.....enjoy your time as a guest of the State, you Ivy League clowns and mid-west yahoos who came to ny to get rich on wall st
hahahahaha
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 3:57PM
@6--yes, yes, off with their heads.
Sentence first, verdict afterwards, and all that.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 4:40PM
@ 3:50- Even after they get out of prison, those "bankers/brokers" will still be living a life you could only dream about. Sad that the prospect of your betters having a bad day is the only thing that makes your days brighter.
Believe me when I tell you, they spend net 0% of their time thinking about what's going on with you.
In fact, the 10 seconds I just gave you is as close as you're going to come. Savor the flavor, and make sure you lock up the cases at the Sunglass Hut before you leave, loser.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 4:45PM
Merrill Lynch never seem to get it!
Clients and employees rights and interests must be respected.
I hope Mr. Cuomo also takes a look at the recent EEOC law suit against Merrill Lynch. That case is not just about flagrant violation of Federal/state and city civil rights laws.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4RNWN_enUS253US253&q=merrill+lynch+eeoc+jim+crow
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 4:50PM
@4:45--sell crazy somewhere else. We're all stocked up here.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 4:54PM
the other sticking point for merrill in settling is they don't have any money
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 4:55PM
the other sticking point for merrill in settling is they don't have any money
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 4:57PM
the other sticking point for merrill in settling is they don't have any money
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 5:02PM
@4.50
Merrill seems to have problem with every law agency in this country. Someone has to look at the whole picture and call their number!!
Don't you think so?
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 5:02PM
@4.50
Merrill seems to have problem with every law enforcement agency in this country. Someone has to look at the whole picture and call their number!!
Don't you think so?
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 5:20PM
@4.57
Merrill has no money for settelemnt?!
I guess you did not include the multi million dollars salaries and bonuses they pay generously to their "super stars"! How about $40 million dollars in salary for August 1 to Dec 31 fro some new employee! How about hundreds of millions of dollars in pay for top few folks there. They don't have money! YEAH RIGHT!
Posted by guest , Aug 16, 2008 10:46PM
Thain does not want to raise money yet again, so he is trying to delay it for now. Merrill is insolvent.
Posted by guest , Aug 18, 2008 9:34AM
@8--You may well be correct. But then again, I'm sure all the brokers/bankers who end up at Rikers for a night or two will remember the jack-hammering their anal sphincters received from their fun-loving cellmates for a very long time.