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Article: Orange County, Merrill Lynch Escalate their Public War of Words.(Originated from The Orange County Register, Calif.)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
- Article date:
- May 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. 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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May 1--Days after Orange County filed bankruptcy, top executives of Merrill Lynch & Co. offered the county a prescription for its shattered investment pool:
Hunker down. Stop borrowing. Avoid having to pay high interest rates.
That advice seems to contradict Merrill Lynch's public assertions that the county could have continued its high-risk strategy indefinitely. The discordancy is music to county bankruptcy attorney Bruce Bennett's ears.
"It reflects Merrill Lynch's concurrence that the pool as it existed on Dec. 6, 1994, was inappropriate and unsuitable," Bennett said. "It's a rare moment of candor that reflects what Merrill actually thought about ...