>Or did you fu-k that elephant at some zoo?
I think I fu$ked MER really good.
Btw
My Goldman leaps (GS) are looking very good. A 16 point run up in the last few weeks will do that.
>Published: October 17 2001 09:43 | Last Updated: October 18 2001 16:34
Merrill Lynch, the US investment bank, on Thursday said that it had cut 2,300 jobs in the third quarter, when earnings per share of 44 cents were better than expected but less than half earnings in the same quarter last year.
David H. Komansky, chairman and chief executive, and Stanley O’Neal, new president and chief operating officer, said: "The near-term environment remains extremely weak, leading to over-capacity throughout the industry."
The events of September 11 stripped 6 cents a share from Merrill's earnings. Net income in the quarter also more than halved to $422m, but investment banking income held up well, down less than 3 per cent at $858m.
The bank, however, suffered a sharp 47 per cent loss trading on its own behalf. Principal transaction revenue fell from $1.16bn to $759m.
Merrill is cutting back its global network as Mr O'Neal reshapes the financial-services giant for tougher times.
The cuts are the first sign that leading investment banks are looking for structural responses to the slowdown in business in addition to job reduction programmes.
They would also signal that US financial services firms are losing confidence in their ability to export US style approaches to investors living in other countries.
Mr O'Neal was named Merrill's second-ranking executive in July and has quickly taken a leading role at the company, adding to speculation that David Komansky, chairman and chief executive, will leave before his scheduled retirement in 2004.
Mr O'Neal would be the first non-broker to run Merrill and part of his appeal to the board has been his inclination to reconsider past policies.
The cuts are expected to fall heavily on retail brokerage operations in Japan, Canada, Australia and South Africa - many of them acquired under Mr Komansky.
Mr O'Neal's review could lead to thousands of job cuts, not only in retail but also in investment banking.
In a statement, Merrill said on Wednesday it had been accelerating on ongoing review to make sure operations are "sized properly" for the "deteriorating environment." It said it has no "company-wide headcount reduction targets."
Rival bankers said Merrill has been trying to find buyers for some of its overseas businesses, especially in emerging markets. Among those for which buyers are believed to have been sounded out are South Africa and Australia.
Merrill Lynch has been scrutinising its Japanese retail operations in recent months, which have been losing about $200m a year since they were established three years ago.
In 1998, Merrill bought the assets of Yamaichi Securities, the failed Japanese broker. This marked the first time any foreign company had attempted such a move in Japan. Competitors such as Citigroup, for example, opted for joint ventures.
However, Merrill failed to attract as many client assets as rivals such as Nomura and Daiwa, reflecting resistance among Japanese investors to sales methods that worked in the US.
The losses have prompted Merrill to reorganise the operations in recent months, cutting jobs and branches while focusing more on wealthy investors. |
