| Merrill Lynch hires new CEO from NYSE
Merrill Lynch & Co. named NYSE Euronext CEO John Thain as its chief executive, a move that acknowledges it needed an outsider with a Goldman Sachs pedigree to repair an image battered by wrong-way bets on subprime mortgages. Thain, 52, replaces Stan O'Neal, who was ousted as Merrill's CEO and chairman last month after the company wrote down $8.4 billion in assets during the third quarter. Thain's appointment is effective Dec. 1, Merrill said. One of his first tasks will be to assess Merrill's risk management procedures, which analysts said clearly failed in evaluating exposure to subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations. The New York Stock Exchange named Duncan Niederauer chief executive, replacing Thain. Niederauer, 48, joined the NYSE in April after serving as co-head of equities trading at Goldman Sachs.
ANZ battered
The market punished the ANZ yesterday, despite reporting its highest ever profit. The shares closed down $1.15, or 3.7% at $29.96, with a massive 23.25 million shares traded, worth $670 million. It was a real sell-off which only brushed its rivals. Both the NAB and the CBA had strong rises yesterday in comparison. That cut the year's gain for the bank of 10% up till Wednesday night, to just over 6%, well down from the 14% rise in the bank index. On the face of it, it was an odd reaction to some solid looking figures and the market might be accused of over reacting and not taking heed of previous qualified guidance on an expected rise in impaired loan provisions. That increase will continue in the coming year to be faster than revenue growth, according to an outlook comment issued yesterday, so shareholders had better expect more volatility in the ANZ share price, if yesterday's market reaction is any guide.
Battling for Payday Loans
When my Foolish colleague Selena Maranjian extolled the virtues of a virtual ban on payday loans for members of the military, I knew it was because she wants consumers to run their financial lives Foolishly. After all, living from paycheck to paycheck and having to make regular use of short-term loans is not a particularly wise use of one's financial resources. .
ASIA MARKETS: Hong Kong, Shanghai Soar On Wall Street Boost
Asian markets surged Wednesday, with gains in Tokyo led by financials such as Mizuho Financial Group as well as exporters such as Nintendo Co., while Hong Kong soared on a heavy rush to buy China Mobile and other China-related stocks. The region was boosted by a strong rebound on Wall Street overnight, which came after a strong earnings report from Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and comments from Goldman Sachs's (GS) chief executive that the investment bank won't be taking any significant charges to write off losses related to the subprime mortgage market. "Last night has certainly made people think that now the U.S. will probably have a soft landing, rather than a hard, hard crunch," said Tony Russell, a senior client adviser at ABN Amro Morgans in Brisbane. "I would still expect the volatility to persist.
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