OMG! You guys! Have you heard that Merrill Lynch totally has a hiring freeze in place? The company isn't hiring anyone these days--not even to replace folks who leave or to fill slots it had previously budgeted for. The only exception is retail brokers, who mainly work on commissions anyway.
The story "broke" late yesterday, when the New York Times reporter Louise Story somehow "obtained" an internal memo from Greg Fleming, Merrill's president, and Tom Sanzone, the chief administrative officer. According to a story published in Reuters a half hour later, Merrill Lynch spokeswoman Jessica Oppenheim has even confirmed the memo!
Of course, Bess Levin reported all this 31 hours earlier here, even including a photo of the memo on a Merrill Lynch computer. But we congratulate our colleagues in the financial media on catching up so quickly.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 9:26AM
cmon dealbreaker, class up a bit and stop acting like it's your first time in the end zone. you did a good job breaking the story, is there a real need to do a ridiculous touchdown dance post on the face of the MSM? let's have a few decades of solid reporting before we pop off our corks.
Posted by chad , Aug 15, 2008 9:28AM
i want to kick first poster in the balls.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 9:30AM
Kenard Grant broke this story 3 days ago.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 9:30AM
Kenard Grant broke this story 3 days ago.
Posted by FUNdamental , Aug 15, 2008 9:36AM
@1 - Just because you don't like having your cork popped don't hate on the rest of us who enjoy a good cork popping.
// no idea what that means.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 9:39AM
way "to scoop the NYT" Bess. lol.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 9:39AM
@1 Agreed. A victory lap for doing something useless. Gasparino must be guest editing today.
Posted by John Carney , Aug 15, 2008 9:42AM
I'll admit that I'm a bit sensitive about Bess Levin's reporting. She should get credit where it's due, that's all.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 9:45AM
@1: Did your Mother not pay enough attention to you when you were a little monster?
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 9:51AM
Hearing from a source at the NYT that Stan O'Neal is on his way out at Merrill.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 9:51AM
Wow -- a victory lap certainly is in order! Very impressive investigative reporting: setting up a site where bored first year analysts can send in stories while they wait for the xerox machines to warm up. Somebody call Woodward and Bernstein!
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 9:53AM
NYT and WSJ reporters are spending too much time here editing when they should be digging up news.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 9:53AM
Hearing that poster #9 is above mentioned back-office employee waiting for the xerox to warm up.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 9:55AM
@1 Remember your comment when you get the chop. It will explain why your leaving. Not to worry, you will bounce back ...later.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 10:00AM
Dealbreaker needs to track this chick down!
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a6h1pur72rok&refer=home
" Jessica Walter didn't go to Harvard University to study cupcakes, but they're what she does since losing her job as a vice president in credit strategy at Bear Stearns Cos. "
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 10:07AM
Damn. Carney creates one of the best sites on the intertubes and all half you do is bitch about bullshit. Without this site #1, you'd have read Seeking Alpha for the 5th time while you fall asleep at your desk. Quit your petty bitching and try creating something yourself.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 10:12AM
@16 or Takeareport and laughing my ass off
Posted by bank_teller , Aug 15, 2008 10:18AM
@15 -- i wonder if she's hot
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 10:21AM
@1, 7 and 11--killself
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 10:27AM
The New York Times needs to merge with Dealbreaker in order to survive.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 10:30AM
@19 Go back to India.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 10:36AM
Yes quit sulking! Nobody gives you any credit! You should be thick skinned by now. Witness another today from y'day's post:
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2008/08/15/15117/for-you-cdo-ze-war-is-over/
Why don't you fight back and cover salacious-stories-with-the-only-finance-connection-being-the-guy-was-a-banker stuff like AR-S so you too can get face time on CNBC? Oh wait.... AR-S got that story from your scoop as well....
Posted by hedge , Aug 15, 2008 10:37AM
John's blog was clearly about Bess deserving her due credit, not DB scooping the MSM. Criticize much?
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 11:22AM
That is one heck of a scoop: imagine, a hiring freeze during a recession!
New scoop: Coffee machine on the 11th floor at GS is down: Go get 'em Dealbreaker!
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 11:29AM
@24--whatever, you're still here, not only reading but commenting, so they're doing something right to get eyeballs
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 11:44AM
DB does a great job and definitely fills a void, but i look forward to the day DB can break a story, and that in and of itself is not a story.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 11:48AM
@14 please determine the difference between your and you're before posting to this board retard.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 12:32PM
@27 Please review your punctuation cheat sheet from grammer 4 dummys.
Should read...
posting to this board, retard.
You also didn't capitalize the first word of your/you're sentence. Using determine as the imperative seems a bit awkward, no? Understand would be clearer.
2shay!
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 2:35PM
yea watch your "grammer"
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 2:49PM
@6-- check the byline, rocket scientist.
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 7:31PM
@30, this is #6. Check the second-to-last line, rocket scientist.
"Of course, Bess Levin reported all this 31 hours earlier here..."
Posted by guest , Aug 15, 2008 7:49PM
@6, 30 here, just responding to the fact that you seem to have a problem with this post, which you should take up with carney, not bl.
Posted by Cincinnatus C , Aug 18, 2008 11:29AM
24: details please!
Posted by Cincinnatus C , Aug 18, 2008 11:30AM
24: details please!