Guy Moszkowski Quite Quotations

In terms of investment banking, in terms of capital markets, in terms of investment management, really everything was very positive. Their outlook statement was also quite positive: their backlogs are up compared to where they were last year and they expect to be able to continue to pick up market share.

To think they're immune would be very imprudent, and I'm sure they'd be the first to agree with me on that. But from everything I can infer, the second quarter is starting out just as strong as the first, and they manage their risk very well. Earnings growth could contract quite a bit if things get bad, but they're well protected from severe loss in most any market environment.

Merrill, relative to its historical valuations at this stage of the cycle, is quite cheap. And (the company) will of course enjoy some recovery probably over the next few weeks as it has in the last week, as worries about the interest rate environment subside.