Merrill

As Zero Hedge previously disclosed, when Judge Rakoff told the SEC to promptly reevaluate its Wall Street pandering ways, one of the notable highlights was his suggestion that the lawyers advising Bank of America themselves may "be held legally responsible" for the creation of the fraudulent proxy statement which blatantly misrepresented the reality over Merrill's bonuses. And the question then becomes: who were the lawyers representing Merrill? Why Bank Of America's darling law firm Wachtell Lipton, and specifically legendary partner Ed Herlihy.

"We at the RateLab have long been fans of Ben Bernanke, as such, we are cheered that politics did not trump competence and Bernanke was officially nominated for another four year term as Chairman of the FED. What follows is a linear thought process of what this means for the markets." - Harley Bassman

In a sign that the REIT market may surprisingly lose its invisible bid, the primary beneficiaries of the IPO pump and dump game, namely Merrill and Deutsche, have announced they are deferring their underwriting fees for REIT IPOs "after buyers balked at the deals" (one doubts Cohen & Steers is part of this group of balkers).

"After all the finger pointing at greedy Wall Street big-wigs, a somnambulant FED, and “tulip-crazed” homeowners is over, the fact remains that the nexus of the housing market is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, aka, the GSE’s (Government Sponsored Enterprises). And just as the beginning of this crisis can clearly be marked to the date that their financial situation tipped south, so can we be sure that our problems will not be truly over until they have been stabilized." - Harley Bassman, ML

Zero Hedge's good-natured critique of Merrill Lynch's most recent RateLab issue seems to have circulated. We present the response by its author to our earlier comments."

Main Entry: dis·grun·tled; Pronunciation: \dis-'gr?n-t l\; Date: 1682
Adjective: displeased and discontented; sulky; peevish.

Main Entry: dis·com·bob·u·lated; Pronunciation: \.dis-k?m-'ba-b(y)?-.lat\; Date: 1916
Adjective: To throw into a state of confusion.

RateLab Issue July 7, 2009

The brand spanking new team (and legacy boy Craig Schmidt) that Merrill recently acquired from some other bank (I wrote about this, but frankly don't remember where these clowns came from nor do I care), just went to town all over the REIT bathroom and marked their territory effusively. ML in fact distributed a 45 page reinitiation report, which I have no intention of ever reading.

The brand spanking new team (and legacy boy Craig Schmidt) that Merrill recently acquired from some other bank (I wrote about this, but frankly don't remember where these clowns came from nor do I care), just went to town all over the REIT bathroom and marked their territory effusively. ML in fact distributed a 45 page reinitiation report, which I have no intention of ever reading. The summary ratings and price targets are below.

The brand spanking new team (and legacy boy Craig Schmidt) that Merrill recently acquired from some other bank (I wrote about this, but frankly don't remember where these clowns came from nor do I care), just went to town all over the REIT bathroom and marked their territory effusively. ML in fact distributed a 45 page reinitiation report, which I have no intention of ever reading. The summary ratings and price targets are below.

Straight from the horse's mouth, viewers can gleen the most "unbiased" perspective on the strength of the REIT market, who the investors are who are so happy to throw their money on the REIT equity offering bandwagon, and just how many more waves (after waves) of follow ons can be expected.

Compliments of Ron Sturzenegger, MD and Global Head of Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging and Jeff Horowitz, Managing Director & Head of Americas Real Estate And Loding, both at Merrill/BofA.

In a surprising development on the REIT scene, today the Omaha World Herald announced that Merrill REIT group darling Simon Property Group is selling the Crossroad Mall in Omaha on 72nd and Dodge Streets.

In a surprising development on the REIT scene, today the Omaha World Herald announced that Merrill REIT group darling Simon Property Group is selling the Crossroad Mall in Omaha on 72nd and Dodge Streets.

In a surprising development on the REIT scene, today the Omaha World Herald announced that Merrill REIT group darling Simon Property Group is selling the Crossroad Mall in Omaha on 72nd and Dodge Streets.

Been a while since we heard from the most popular (and profitable) research (and trading) desk on Wall Street. Last night Merrill analyst Craig Schmidt went to town upgrading pretty much anything he could get his hands on. To wit, all from the last 24 hours:

In his first note released in the post Sakwa world, Craig Schmidt continues to attempt to restore confidence in retail REITs. It would, after all, seem prudent to bang clients' heads into their desks until they see the light at the end of the tunnel (oncoming bullet train?) at a time when the only cash, and equity value, REITs can create is by raising expensive, dilutive equity in order to repay the cheapest form of capital (that of secured loans previously held by Mr. Schmidt uber parent, Bank of America).