WALL STREET

ANALYSTS SEND MIXED MESSAGE ON MERRILL

Wall Street analysts are sending out a mixed message about Merrill Lynch & Co.

Of the 22 analysts who follow the biggest American securities firm, 17 recommend buying its shares, more than for any rival. At the same time, the same analysts forecast that Merrill’s fourth-quarter profit rose at less than half the pace of Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Lehman Brothers.

Merrill probably will say tomorrow that net income rose 8% to $1.29 billion, or $1.30 a share, according to the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Analysts underestimated earnings for the New York-based firm by an average of 5.8% during the past six quarters.

– Bloomberg News

JPMORGAN PROFIT PROFIT RISES

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third-biggest American bank, said profit rose after the sale of its Internet brokerage and cost cuts cushioned a surge in credit card defaults. Bad bets on interest rates and energy led to the second drop in trading revenue in the past three quarters.

Net income climbed to $2.7 billion, or 76 cents a share, from $1.67 billion, or 46 cents, a year earlier, the company said yesterday in a statement. Revenue rose 6% to $13.7 billion. The sale of BrownCo, JPMorgan’s online brokerage, produced a $752 million gain.

– Bloomberg News

FOREIGN MARKETS

JAPANESE MARKET RISES SLIGHTLY AFTER EARLY CLOSE

TOKYO – Japan’s main stock market rose slightly at the open today after losing nearly 3% the day before in a session shortened due to massive selling caused by accounting probes of a popular Internet startup.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 55.42 points, or 0.26%, to 15,396.60 points shortly after the open. The index dropped 464.77 points, or 2.9%, to close at 15,341.18 points, its biggest one-day drop since May 10, 2004.

The decline was triggered by massive selling – mainly targeting information and technology stocks – over allegations that Livedoor Co. had violated securities laws by giving false information.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange said it would delay the start of its afternoon session by 30 minutes, as planned. The bourse also said it would suspend trading if volume surged as much as yesterday.

– Associated Press

PRIVATE EQUITY

BAIN CAPITAL TO BUY BURLINGTON COAT FACTORY

TRENTON, N.J. – After 34 years as a family-run business, Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation has agreed to a $2.06 billion cash buyout offer from private equity firm Bain Capital Partners LLC.

– Associated Press

IN BRIEF

Google shares had their steepest decline in more than a year after two analysts recommended selling the shares and Yahoo reported disappointing results … Gold in New York fell the most in a month as some investors sold bullion to cover losses in the stock market and a government report showed inflation remains tame.

– Bloomberg News