Today's News

Bank of America

Shareholder Steven Sklar charged in a complaint in US federal court that Bank of America failed to disclose about $15.3 billion in losses by Merrill Lynch before shareholders voted to approve the acquisition of Merrill. The complaint states that Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis never revealed Merrill's problems "despite his knowledge of Merrill Lynch's staggering losses." [Source: Bloomberg]

Merrill Lynch paid out billions in employee bonuses a full month early, three days before its sale to Bank of America closed. At the time, Merrill's losses were piling up rapidly, and Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis asked the US government for money from TARP to help finance the acquisition. [Source: Financial Times]

Only three weeks after its acquisition of Merrill Lynch was officially completed, Bank of America ousted former Merrill CEO John Thain. [Source: International Herald Tribune]

Other Headlines

Microsoft's second-quarter profit declined to $4.17 billion, or 47 cents per share, down 11% from a year ago and missing Wall Street forecasts of 49 cents per share. The software firm blamed a weaker PC market and economic troubles for the result and also said it plans to cut 5,000 jobs during the next 18 months.

Northrop Grumman expects to record a loss when it releases its fourth quarter results. The defense contracting giant cited $3 billion to $3.4 billion for impairment of goodwill. The company expects 2008 earnings per share from continuing operations before the charge to meet the upper end of $5.20 per share for its forecast. Wall Street analysts expect earnings of $5.21 a share, according to a survey by FactSet Research.