Skip navigation
Watchlist Sponsored By :


Current DateTime: 08:05:23 09 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697

FEATURED QUIZZES


Current DateTime: 08:05:23 09 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33793611

Current DateTime: 08:05:23 09 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24890560
  • Winterizing Your Portfolio

      If 2009 was the winter of our discontent, will 2010 be a winter wonderland for investors? A lot depends on the recovery—or lack thereof.

  • Investor's Guide to Real Estate

      Some even say the long-awaited recovery is here. Regardless, buyers and sellers alike can profit from our guide.

  • Alternative Investing

      Stocks and bonds? Sure. But it's a big world out there for investors.

powered by digg
Merrill Considered Naming O'Neal Interim Chairman
By: Charles Gasparino, On-Air Editor | 28 Oct 2007 | 07:17 PM ET
Text Size

Not long after the Merrill Lynch board of directors agreed to oust Stan O'Neal as the company's chief executive, the same board offered to allow O'Neal to remain in the post on an interim basis until a new chief executive can be found, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Stanley O'Neal
Stanley O'Neal

It is unclear if O'Neal accepted the offer, this person said, and as of late Sunday, O'Neal was was still weighing his options.

Sources close to the situation initially said that a member of the Merrill board would be named interim chairman.

The move underscores the difficult situation faced by Merrill's board as it attempts to maintain some leadership at a firm reeling from massive losses to due its exposure to risk bonds and a recent credit-rating downgrades.

Sources close to the firm say the board is leaning toward offering the CEO job to Larry Fink, the current CEO of BlackRock. Other internal candidates include Co-President Greg Fleming and the favorite of the firm's massive brokerage unit, Private Client Chief Robert McCann.

If O'Neal stays on even for a short time it will be controversial. It was, after all, his strategy of increasing risk, particularly in the fixed income area that resulted in a recent write down for the third quarter of $8.4 billion. Analysts expect a further write down in the fourth quarter.

Merrill shares surged 8.5 percent on Friday -- their biggest single day move in five years -- on reports that O'Neal, 56,  would be replaced.

Members of Merrill's board apparently became angry when they learned O'Neal had floated a merger proposal with U.S. bank Wachovia without their knowledge, The New York Times reported on Friday.

© 2009 CNBC.com
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Do free market libertarians really believe what they say about ethics and shareholder value? The Big Money takes a look.
  • Jim Cramer
  • Cramer did the research and found eight stocks that lead the pack. Read on to get his top picks.
  • On the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, many in the former Eastern Bloc recall communism fondly.
  • Gavel
  • Software, biotech firms, even banks are watching a particular Supreme Court argument today.
  • From politicians to CEOs to companies, here's your chance to vote for the winners and losers of 2009.
  • A new sinister Internet viruses can turn you into an unsuspecting collector of child pornography.
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 03:21:08 09 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 08:52:06 09 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 06:53:35 09 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 08:52:07 09 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters