04/08/2002 Dow Jones News Services (Copyright © 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
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02:32 PM
*DJ NY AG Order Requires 'Immediate' Reforms At Merrill
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02:33 PM
*DJ NY AG: Merrill's Ratings 'Biased' Due To Conflicts
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02:35 PM
*DJ NY AG: Merrill Tainted Ratings To Aid Banking Business
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02:38 PM
*DJ NY AG Has Issued Subpoenas To Other Securities Firms
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02:39 PM
*DJ NY AG Calls Merrill Action 'Preliminary' Step
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02:39 PM
*DJ NY AG: Merrill Problems Went Beyond Single Analyst
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02:41 PM
*DJ NY AG: Merrill Problems Went Beyond Single Research Unit
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02:41 PM
*DJ NY AG: May File Criminal Charges Vs Merill, Other Firms
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03:03 PM
=DJ New York/Merrill -2: Evidence 'Dramatic, Troubling'
By Colleen DeBaise Of Dow Jones Newswires
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer confirmed that it obtained a court order requiring Merrill lynch to overhaul the way its analysts issue stock ratings on corporate clients.
Spitzer said "dramatic and troubling" evidence showed that Merrill's supposedly objective independent advice was tainted by a desire to aid the firm's investment-banking business.
"Research was openly used as a sales hook for investment-banking business," he said. "Public assessment of stocks was often false."
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03:14 PM
=DJ New York/Merrill -3: Blodget E-Mails Part Of Evidence
The court order obtained by the attorney general is the result of a 10-month probe into alleged conflicts of interest among Wall Street analysts.
Spitzer said the continuing investigation isn't limited to Merrill. "As dramatic and damning as this evidence is against Merrill Lynch, it may be tip of the iceberg," he said.
He also said the problems at Merrill went far beyond a single analyst or research unit. Some of the evidence offered at Monday's press conference included e-mail communications from Merrill's former star analyst, Henry Blodget.