Top Merrill spot offered to Fink

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. has offered its vacant chief executive post to BlackRock Inc. chief executive Laurence Fink, according to a report on CNBC television.
The New York-based financial services company has given Mr. Fink two weeks to decide whether to accept the offer, CNBC said.
A spokeswoman from Merrill declined to comment on the report.
Mr. Fink would fill the void created after chief executive E. Stanley O’Neal stepped down last week amid a $7.9 billion write-down in the third quarter.
The write-down, which resulted in a $2.3 billion loss, which was the largest in the company’s 93-year history.
Merrill owns 49.8% of BlackRock, which manages $1.3 trillion in client assets.