There's still a lot of drama surrounding Merrill Lynch. For the moment, the mystery man is Laurence Fink, whom the media has dubbed as a CEO contender. But you get the feeling that the short-list of early candidates is not bubbling forth a legitimate candidate. Neither Bob McCann nor Gregory Fleming appear to be viable candidates at this point. Alberto Cribiore, founder of private equity firm Brera Capital, will head a search committee. The smart money at this point would be on an outsider. Could be Fink. Could be someone else. You also have to think that perhaps the board will go ahead and split the chairman and CEO jobs--a good time for a shareholder pleasing move. Candidates? Zoe Cruz? Meanwhile, there could be some more executive shuffling. CFO Jeff Edwards reportedly offered to quit, though he has not done so. Co-president Ahmass Fakahany, in charge of risk management, reportedly will resign.  

For more:
- here's the AP update
- here's a to-do list for the new CEO from MarketWatch
- here's an article on O'Neal and other African-America CEOs from USA Today 

Related articles:
- Merrill Lynch update
- Why the Merrill board is angry with O'Neal
- O'Neal takes the blame