Authorities scrutinize Merrill Lynch
The U.S. attorney's office is examining whether Merrill mispriced holdings of mortgage-backed bonds.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan has begun a preliminary investigation into whether Merrill Lynch mispriced its holdings of mortgage-backed bonds, according to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal.
The paper said the U.S. attorney has requested information from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Citing people familiar with the case, the Journal said the SEC is investigating whether Merrill inflated prices of mortgage bonds it held.
(Link:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120244312394153109.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news)
The Journal reported on Feb. 2 that the SEC recently upgraded the Merrill investigation, and a similar probe involving UBS, into formal investigations. (Link:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120191503643937097.html?mod=sphere_ts )
Today’s report said spokespersons for the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office and Merrill declined to comment about the investigation.
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