Article: Orange County bankruptcy was avoidable, report commissioned by Merrill says.(Orange County, California; Merrill Lynch and Company Inc.)

Orange County had more than enough cash available in December 1994 to avoid filing for bankruptcy, according to a new analysis released yesterday by Nobel Prize-winning economist Merton H. Miller.

The study - commissioned by Merrill Lynch & Co., which is being sued for its role in the county's financial crisis - also concludes that the Orange County investment pool would have earned about $1.8 billion in the past 15 months if county officials had not liquidated the fund.

"Orange County had sufficient cash and prospects of future cash to pay its obligations as they came due," Miller said at a press conference. "The condition of its portfolio did not necessitate ...

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