CFO's job not in peril, says Merrill

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. is stoutly denying that finance chief Jeffrey Edwards will get the boot. “We’re denying it, and we’re sticking to that,” said Jessica Oppenheim, a spokeswoman for Merrill. A report on CNBC said that Mr. Edwards’ job was in danger after he told analysts in a July 17 conference call that the firm was protected from the summer’s credit disaster. The CNBC report cited “senior executives.” Earlier this month, Merrill said that it expected $4.5 billion in write-downs during the third quarter due to the sliding value of collateralized debt obligations and subprime mortgages. The New York-based brokerage predicted a net loss of 50 cents per diluted share. It’s third-quarter earnings will be announced on Oct. 24.