Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Jones Lang LaSalle


Merrill Lynch & Co.

Keen to expand its mortgage business, may set its sights on Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest independent mortgage originator, and pay as much as $33 billion, says Brad Hintz, a Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst. The deal would be the largest by far by Merrill Chief Executive Stan O'Neal.