NEW YORK: Merrill Lynch & Co are in merger talks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Merrill talks come amid a scramble to sort out the potential liquidation of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, according to the report. Bank of America turned its attention to Merrill after considering the acquisition of Lehman, but talks failed to result in a deal, the report said. Lehman has been collapsing under the weight of toxic assets, mainly related to real-estate, that are now worth only a fraction of their original prices because of the credit crisis triggered by America's housing bust. Investors have said that if nothing is done by Monday, global financial markets could plunge. Shares of brokerage Merrill Lynch tumbled 12 percent on Friday, while those of insurer American International Group Inc fell more than 30 percent. Shares of Washington Mutual Inc, the largest U.S. savings and loan, have declined 80 percent this year. All three companies have varying degrees of exposure to the mortgages and other toxic assets that were Lehman's undoing. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/International_Business/Bank_of_America__Merrill_Lynch_in_merger_talks_Report/articleshow/3483431.cms Experience is the teacher of all things. - Julius Caesar --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Kences1" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/kences1?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
