merger news from FierceFinance

A pro has weighed in on Bank of America's communication's woes. Former White House spokesman in the Bush Administration Tony Fratto says essentially that Bank of America bungled what could have been... Read more...

Bob McCann was expected to be in state court today, to ask a judge to let him out of his Bank of America non-compete agreement so he can take a "once in a lifetime" job with UBS, reports Bloomberg.... Read more...

The buy-side is rearing its head as aggressively as ever. According to the Financial Times, the world's largest asset manager is bent on building out its own in-house trading platform. It has tapped... Read more...

The spate of recent deals has raised talk about whether the merger industry is poised for a revival. We've heard this talk before. Anytime a few deals are announced, the optimism surges, but I would... Read more...

When it comes to TARP repayment, Bank of America and Citigroup have generated lots of headlines. But Wells Fargo, which people generally have stereotyped as being in better shape, has not paid back... Read more...

The bankruptcy of General Growth Properties is being seen as a harbinger of what's to come. It was a generally strong operating company, with properties like the South Street Seaport in New York and... Read more...

Wells Fargo posted earnings that were in line with the estimates. But not everyone is convinced it has put the worst woes behind it. It all boils down the Wachovia deal. It seemed like a stunning... Read more...

Ken Lewis must be smiling after gaining some public support from an unlikely source: Bank analyst Meredith Whitney. Bloomberg reports that Whitney told reporters at a conference that Lewis "has done... Read more...

JPMorgan Chase has announced it will lay off roughly 12,000 employees as it digests Washington Mutual. According to the AP, the big bank, which some thought had weathered the crisis as well as any,... Read more...

You have to wonder what the thinking was at Merrill Lynch in the wake of the announcement that it would be purchased by Bank of America. It almost seems as if executives decided to empty the coffers,... Read more...