Research Paper on:
Problems at Merrill Lynch

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
has since left the firm, was accused of having conflicts of interest when it was discovered "specific quid pro quo deals between the firm and its investment banking clients in  what he calls a shocking betrayal and a major breakdown in the supposed separation between the banking and research divisions", according to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (Ackman, 2002, PG). The  investigation was begun when Internet stocks, a longtime favorite at Merrill Lynch, went plunging. The difficulty in proving the problems at Merrill Lynch, are, say many analysts, only opinions  and "opinions cant be wrong" (Ackman, 2002, PG). The way certain stocks and budgets were handled have been up to this point a matter of opinion as to whether  or not it was done incorrectly or even unlawfully. "Merrill says it warned that Internet stocks were risky and that its analysts said most would never make money. It says  analysts comments calling stocks a "piece of crap" or "a disaster" were part of the give-and-take among the professionals rating the stocks. It insists that it has made reforms already"  (Ackman, 2002, PG). The problem lies in the fact that Merrill Lynch was placing Internet stocks on certain preferred lists that indicated to the investors that  these were sound investments. ATTORNEY GENERAL RULING Attorney General Eliot Spitzer did in fact find that Merrill Lynch was at fault and the company agreed to settle out of  court. Merrill Lynch "agreed to settle charges that the companys analysts worked in concert with the firms investment bankers to artificially inflate the prices of many companies that Merrill  Lynch had an investment banking relationship with" (Lawsuit, 2002, PG). Many other major investors in Merrill Lynch, such as Commerzbank, wants to take legal action against the company as