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Article: Magnificent Merrill. (Merrill Lynch & Co.)(A Survey of Wall Street)(Company Profile)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- April 15, 1995
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IT HAS taken Merrill Lynch a long time to get from its roots as America's first national retail brokerage firm to the flowering stage. However, its bloom in recent years has been spectacular. In 1994, a miserable year for many Wall Street firms, Merrill made an 18.6% return on equity and a bigger profit than any other firm. As it happens, its retail business was its main life-force: the brokerage side of the business powered on even while its capital markets activity wilted. Today, Merrill boasts a franchise which, the Orange County affair notwithstanding (see page 23), is the envy of its competitors in both the securities and the banking industries. Barring further ...