Date:02/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/02/stories/2009010255581400.htm

Business

Merrill Lynch goes into history

Employees applaud solemnly to pay tribute to their company

— PHOTO: AFP

TUMULTOUS YEAR: Traders work in the Merrill Lynch booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange moments after the closing bell on December 31 in New York.

NEW YORK: New York city investment bank Merrill Lynch has seen its last day.

As of Thursday the company will be part of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp.

At the closing bell on New Year’s eve on the fifth floor of the World Financial Centre in Manhattan, Merrill Lynch & Co.’s employees held what’s known as a clapoff: hundreds of them stood and applauded solemnly to pay tribute to their company.

Clapoff

Merrill Lynch lost billions of dollars in the subprime mortgage crisis.

Some employees say Wednesday’s clapoff was to mark the end of the company and the end of a very bad year.

The clapoff is a tradition that was used when people left the firm or retired. — AP