Friday, November 02, 2007

Shell Game

In moments when there's a severe liquidity crisis efforts to delay judgment day make sense, but if you're just sitting on a pile of shit you're just delaying the inevitable...


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc's credibility is coming under increased attack after an analyst said the biggest brokerage sought to mitigate write-downs by parking subprime-related assets with hedge funds.

Shares of Merrill (MER.N: Quote, Profile , Research), which ousted Chief Executive Stan O'Neal earlier this week, sank to a two-year low on Friday, falling 9.3 percent to $56.44 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares are down 38 percent this year.

Friday's decline came after the Wall Street Journal reported that the brokerage may have used deals with hedge funds to delay losses on billions of dollars in troubled assets.