Merrill Lynch Co Inc

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to pay $33 million to settle allegations that it misled shareholders by indicating that Merrill Lynch & Co. would not pay year-end bonuses -- when in fact the bank had already approved up to $5.8 billion in payments. Federal regulators, who brought the suit against BofA, said the episode occurred as shareholders were considering the bank's proposed acquisition of Merrill Lynch last year.

After nearly running out of money in its small-business loan funds last month, Valley Economic Development Center Inc. of Van Nuys says it is getting $16 million to enable it to continue to lend to Southern California firms caught in the stubborn credit crunch. Most of the money -- $15 million -- is coming from the city of Los Angeles. Last week, Merrill Lynch & Co. said it would supply the group with $1 million.

Former Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive John Thain on Monday defended the acquisition of the brokerage by Bank of America Corp., saying the bank knew of the company's losses and payment of bonuses before the purchase closed. Thain also said he planned to reimburse Bank of America for a $1.2-million renovation of his office a year ago, saying in an interview with CNBC that "it is clear to me in today's world that it was a mistake." "I apologize for spending that money . . . .

Current and former chief executives of three major U.S. financial institutions hit by sub-prime mortgage fallout were asked Monday by a congressional committee to testify at a hearing next month on their pay and severance packages. A House panel invited Countrywide Financial Corp. CEO Angelo Mozilo, former Citigroup Inc. chief Charles Prince and Stanley O'Neal, former head of Merrill Lynch & Co., to appear Feb. 7.

Massachusetts' top securities regulator Friday accused Merrill Lynch & Co. of fraud and misrepresentation, a day after the world's largest brokerage agreed to reimburse the city of Springfield $13.9 million in a dispute over an investment that soured. An administrative complaint by Secretary of State William Galvin alleges that Merrill Lynch made unsuitably risky investments on behalf of Springfield without the western Massachusetts city's permission -- investments that dwindled from $13.

Two consultants hired by Countrywide Financial Corp. raised concerns about Chairman Angelo R. Mozilo's lucrative pay package, but key recommendations were ignored and the company eventually hired a third advisor whose aim was to achieve "maximum opportunity" for Mozilo, documents show. The result was a pay contract that "was significantly more generous to Mr. Mozilo" than originally recommended, according to a report released by a congressional panel Thursday.

Merrill Lynch & Co., the nation's third-largest securities firm, dropped efforts to sell a stake in BlackRock Inc. and struck a deal instead to sell its 20% share of Bloomberg LP, according to people familiar with the decision. Merrill, poised to report a second-quarter loss today, stood to gain about $2 billion on its 49.8% stake in BlackRock, the nation's largest publicly traded fund manager, based on its current market value. BlackRock stock has fallen 17.

Will a fire sale at Merrill Lynch & Co. force similar moves by other investment banks? That was the big question Tuesday on Wall Street after Merrill's surprise decision to dump a huge chunk of troubled mortgage bonds for pennies on the dollar. Merrill Chief Executive John Thain said late Monday that the brokerage would sell so-called collateralized debt obligations once valued at $30.6 billion for 22 cents on the dollar.

A young former Merrill Lynch analyst caught in a sprawling, $7-million insider trading scheme must serve more than three years in prison to show Wall Street that sharing valuable inside secrets will not be met with leniency, a judge said Friday. U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas said he was sending Stanislav Shpigelman, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Merrill Lynch & Co., the nation's largest retail brokerage, said Thursday that robust stock trading and gains from its private equity business catapulted 2006 profit to a record. Fees from underwriting stock and bond offerings also helped lift the New York-based financial company's profit last year 46% to a staggering $7.5 billion. In the fourth quarter alone, Merrill's earnings leapt 68% to $2.3 billion.