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To: tejek who wrote (3155)	1/22/2009 2:31:58 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3816

How is that an example of free markets not working? He had the money, he wanted something, the market provided it. Just because its extravagant, or its spending by someone you don't like, doesn't mean its market failure in the technical sense, or some more general example of free markets not working. If the issue is that its extravagant, then perhaps you should read this thelibertypapers.org

To: tejek who wrote (3155)	1/22/2009 6:23:21 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3816

If your complaint is Thain's high compensation, perhaps Thain deserved it. I haven't been following his situation and performance closely enough to know, so I don't necessarily agree with the following opinions, but the arguments, at least the 2nd one, seem pretty good. -------- ...I've actually developed quite a bit of sympathy for Mr. Thain. After all, he didn't create the mess at Merrill Lynch; rather, he was brought in to clean up after Stan O'Neal's MBS binge led to predictable results--all over the trading floor. Given the situation in the markets, and the balance sheet he was handed, I'm not sure how anyone could have expected Mr. Thain to do better at the core mission he was hired for: taking care of his shareholders and employees... meganmcardle.theatlantic.com Merrill's John Thain: 2008 CEO Of The Year Henry Blodget \| Jan 16, 09 4:56 PM Go ahead and laugh. We're serious. Let's review: John Thain parachuted into Merrill Lynch at the end of 2007. He immediately started raising money and taking write-offs. Each quarter, while the rest of Wall Street was whistling Dixie, he raised more money and took more write-offs--and then he persuaded the media and the market that Merrill's capital position was strong. Then, the next quarter, he did the same thing all over again. Meanwhile, Bear Stearns imploded. Fannie and Freddie imploded. AIG imploded. General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford imploded. Lehman ignored urgent pleas to raise more capital and imploded. Then, that fateful Lehman weekend, when it had become clear to Thain that no matter how much capital he raised, he would never be able to stabilize a balance sheet that was actually just a steaming pile of dung, he decided to sell. Selling a firm whose stock is likely to go to zero within 24 hours is no mean feat (just ask Dick Fuld). In the space of a day, Thain did what every shrewd seller does but is extremely difficult to do in those circumstances--create the appearance of demand. Specifically, he persuaded designated sucker Ken Lewis that, not only was Merrill's capital position strong (it wasn't), but that if Lewis didn't jump, he'd lose the firm. And Lewis jumped. To the tune of almost $50 billion. For a firm that, 24 hours later, probably would have been worth zero. And now, three months later, it's clear that, without misrepresenting anything, Thain snookered Lewis into paying almost $50 billion for a firm that was actually worth zero, even thought it's stock was still trading in the $20s at the time. That's the embodiment of acting in the best interests of shareholders. So we say again: Ken Lewis should be fired. And John Thain is the 2008 CEO Of The Year. clusterstock.alleyinsider.com