>> the law says -- and it took a month between the time -- >> they were loss toes merrill lynch. >> aterrill they were acquiring it, right? >> the fact of the matter is, bank of america benefited by the fact that merrill lynch took those losses prior to the acquisition. i don't understand why people can't figure out that if a bank makes money on an acquisition, that it's good for the bank. if the stock goes up after the acquisition, it's good for the shareholders. if the company doesn't go out of business, i.e. merrill lynch, and stays in new york state, it's good for new york state. if the financial system doesn't collapse -- but jonathan, what about the fact that -- all those facts may be correct, but in the end, ken lewis felt the need to go to treasury and say, i don't necessarily want to do this deal. he told that to the feds, but he never actually told that to the shareholders. do you feel that he should have disclosed that to you? >> they had a legal duty to disclose that to shareholders prior to to shareholder vote. we think there was a material change in the condition of merri

>> countrywide then merrill lynch. no question merrill lynch is making quite, a large sum of money now. there is a huge debate looking backwards. they waited a day when merrill lynch's stock went much lower. >> that was the point to do it then, right? >> and i think he believed that the combination of merrill with countrywide, with 11% deposits can truly create a unique institution. unfortunately when you are looked upon, are you a good ceo or not, much has to do with your last few transactions. the last few transactions, one could argue the timings were maybe premature. but i think history will show merrill lynch was a great acquisition. countrywide is going to be a great acquisition. b of a will perform incredibly well when the consumer starts stabilizing. unfortunately, b of a is so large and so connected to the american consumer, they are almost an indicator, their health is a direct result of the country. >> larry, your most recent acquisition, barclays, investors took managers. too big to fail. we'll talk with th

merrill lynch, u.s. trust, these aren't just crown jewels of the organization, but crown jewels of the industry. and we have a lot of work to do. our clients have been through a lot. our focus, all of us, has got to be on restoring that trust. >> you talked about how important that relationship is with the adviser, right? that's one of the reasons why we see different banks paying brokers from huge retention bonuses, the very controversial pay practices that everybody complains about, it's really coming down at the broker level because people are threatening to take their clients elsewhere. does it irk you when you listen to lloyd blankfein saying we have to change the way we do compensation because they don't have to worry about people leaving goldman. >> i'm sure very talented folks at goldman are getting plenty of offers from folks. i wouldn't say, must be so easy at goldman. what i would say, however, is that what we have to focus on is building a company not for next week or next month. one of the t

and neither are the people who came in from merrill lynch to head up the investment banking area. so i would guess that brian moynihan would be the number one candidate. >> dick, by saying that, ken lewis stepping down is bad to have bank of america, does that imply they are in fact trading down by taking one of these possible successors and making him or her ceo? >> absolutely. there's no we in my mind about it. ken lewis was one of the most brilliant bank executives in this country. he's proved it over 20 years of making solid decisions. he's created a company which went from a nothing bank in north carolina to being the largest bank in the united states, with 12% of the nation's deposits, a number one position in a whole series of consumer and commercial products. for him to be pushed out on this issue is almost outrageous. >> hey, dick, it's joe. does this change the time frame at all for repayment of the tarp? >> no. i think it would be a mistake for bank of america to repay the tarp at this point in time because the government keeps making these noises as they did last week

new york's attorney general says an investigation into lewis's role in the merrill lynch bill will go on despite his resignation. >>> comcast appears to be in talks to buy all or part of nbc universal. the cable giant looking for a new source of news and entertainment content and nbc's owners, g.e. and vivendi could get a lift from the deal. nbc value has dropped $20 billion in the last year. >>> and 9 the recession has hit even the super rich. according to noshes the 400 richers americans lost a combined $300 billion in net worth in the past year. the usual suspects still on top but to make the list you only needed to make $950 million compared to $1.3 billion last year. >>> coming up on "good morning america" -- the latest on america's bid to bring the 2016 olympics to chicago. including a live report from cope hagen where the first lady is at work. that's your "moneyscope report." i'm jeremy hubbard. >>> good morning. 6:24. during our commercial break mr. jamie costello was singing his rendition of the boss "waiting on a sunny day," complete with air guitar. >> go ahead. >> from ar

i'm joined to discuss all of this with the bank of america securities at merrill lynch. and tony, with equity capital markets. let's talk a little bit about what's going on in that market, ethan. do you think that the fourth quarter is going to bring further gains for this market? up 50% from the lows in march. >> i think the market's still has a ways to go. we're still in the early stages of an economic recovery. i don't buy the double-dip notion that the economy is going to drop back into recession anytime soon. as the data continues to confirm, an ongoing recovery, people in the markets will get more confident and that should maintain upward momentum in the stock market. >> tony, there's still money on the sidelines. >> there's a historically amount of money on the sidelines. most of the money that's come in has gone to the bond market. it's not just people sitting in cash, it's also people sitting in fixed income investments, where your yields are so low and it's coming down. i agree with ethan and what i would suggest is in the letter alphabet, i'm looking for a cap

remember greg fleming was the president of merrill lynch.s he's the guy that brought -- he was. he's the brainchild of the merrill lynch deal to bank of america. he left bank of america sometime -- i guess it was earlier in the year. here is the problem with fleming getting that job -- >> all right, charlie. >> but here is the problem with fleming getting the job. two things. you know, while he didn't run risk at meryl lyncmerrill lynch was clearly involved in the risk taking. he bragged about it. i have a scene in my book where he's extolling the strategy of stan o'neal of taking risk. that's one problem and the fact that he brought the deal to b of a which so far has not worked out well. i think those are two major strikes against greg fleming getting that job. that said, auto he is a brilliant investment banker. no one has better contacts than him, but bringing him to b of a right now, based on those are two huge strikes. it sounds nearly impossible. >> you've got a message on your cell phone, charlie. >> go listen to it. >> it's probably

he made this choice to buy merrill lynch at the peak of the financial crisis. when lehman brothers had just gone under, we were right at the peak of oh, my god, it is the financial system going to collapse. take the economy down. people thought he really helped. now again facing civil security charges over that. back to you. >> jen, thank you. >>> tiger woods' lists of accomplishments seems endless. now "forbes" says the golfer's latest win gives him something no other athlete ever accomplished. >>> 14 minutes past the hour. a second weaker quake hit near the tsunami battered samoa islands overnight but did not trigger more warnings of waves. the u.s. said two military cargo planes loaded with supplies to help people recover from tuesday's deadly tsunami. take a look at this here. this is american samoa. at least 139 people died. look at that truck. buried in the water there. officials say they could find more victims as rescuers reach remote villages. >>> a florida democrat is refusing to apologize after saying the republican plan for health care is just calli

moving away from markets on a mook row level, recent bank of america merrill lynch global research indicates that the economies are expected to recover in 2010 which is not a surprise. what they are predicting is 3% gdp growth for the combined gcc economies. of course, several factors coming into play. first you're going to have a global economic recovery just in general as a whole. also, you're going to see a recovery in capital markets and last but not least, the price of oil increase which is very important for this oil exporting and reducing region. so the budget heavily relies on oil revenues. that's it for me. back to you. >> nadine hawa, thank you very much. britain's serious offers is saying they're going to release a statement on bribery allegations this morning. it's a big case that's rolling on. >>> coming up, we have eu employment data coming in in around ten minutes. will it show signs of stabilize? >> plus, the dollar gets a boost after disappointing manufacturing data in the uk. we'll have a look at the currency markets come up next. q ooh, peanuts. >>> welcome back. you are

become a distraction as regulators and lawmakers, over the details of the $29 billion takeover of merrill lynch. lockheed martin says that the delivery and launch date for the newest pentagon satellite system will be delayed to early 2011. the system was supposed to be launched this december but has been pushed back five times. that is business news at the new york stock exchange, reported for wbal tv 11 news. back over to you. >> we will see you back here at 6:15 for your next report. >> coming up, we will get another ligature morning commute with traffic and weather together. >> -- get another look at your morning commute with traffic and weather together. >> and we will tell you all about the patriots and the ravens coming up. >> do not forget to e-mail us your answer to the water cooler question of the day. do you think kids who are alloawed to eat candy every day could be more likely to commit violent crimes when they grow up? >> the ravens are looking to go 4and -0 this sunday against the new england patriots. a big sunday needed for ray lewis and the defense because they are going agains

i agree he overpaid for merrill lynch. >> i want to bring tom brokaw in.ime" magazine. rick stengel is here to unveil that for us. what have we got? >> what we have is talking about a lot this morning, the war in afghanistan, the war up close. it is a fantastic intimate photo essay by adam ferguson of soldiers on the ground. one of the things i fete strongly about, while people are discussing the war over the next few weeks and while president obama is making decisions, what i wanted to do is take people right up there and make them see what it was like, what it was like for american soldiers, what it was like on a daily basis. we also have a pro and con, from les gelman, whether the war should be escalated, whether we should be sending 40,000 more troops as some say or should be pulling back. it's an interesting discussion. i mean, tom was talking about it earlier. it's not a zero sum discussion. nobody is saying we've got to get out completely. but there are two schools of thought about whether afghanistan can actually -- whether you can do nation buildi

add to that, internal tuoil stemming from the ongoing integration merrill lynch and countrywidfinancial. still, analyst stuart esser ys those mergers will timately prove to be gd strategic moves. >>he acquisitions are paying off. merrl is certainly adding to the bottom line in significant way. d countrywide, although it h some legalssues, we can certainlsee the market shares that bank of america is ining in theortgage market because of it. >> reporter: and for all t fl ken lewis has taken, the bank's lal problems don't end th his departure. it still faces probes byew york state attorney genera andr cuomo, congress, and regulators over whether lewi misled investo about merrill's loes and bonuses. on t of that, the bank has yet pay back the money it owes cle sam as part of the tarp program. that said, psser still think the stock is a good y. >> reporte he thinks the stock will get a big lift as sooas bank of americstarts paying ck it's $45 billion dollars tarp funds. he thinkthat could happen by the enof the year. erika miller, "nightlyusiness repo," new york. >> paul: wl street was hit w

he's been under a lot of fire over the acquisition of merrill lynch.hat happened during the height of the financial meltdown at a time when people, leaders really worried the entire system was going to collapse. he was hailed as a hero for that then, but since then, a lot of questions. no successor has been named. >>> millions of americans facing foreclosure call their banks over and over. a lot of you told us your stories. you're trying to find a way to keep the home, change the mortgage. well, a new government report shows some banks have stepped up. that's some good news in a bad economy for homeowners. and new government report says they are looking at reducing the principal. so good for the homeowners, not necessarily for the banks according to the "wall street journal." because the banks do lose some money when they do that. but it does mean they've got a much higher chance of getting something back instead of nothing if somebody defaults and loses their home. it's partly due to pressure from the white house. >>> a michigan woman who ate her vege

add to that, internal turmoil stemming from the ongoing integration of merrill lynch and countrywide financial. still, analyst stuart plesser says those mergers will ultimately prove to be good strategic moves. >> the acquisitions are paying off. merrill is certainly adding to the bottom line in a significant way. and countrywide, although it has some legal issues, we can certainly see the market shares that bank of america is gaining in the mortgage market because of it. >> reporter: and for all the flak ken lewis has taken, the bank's legal problems don't end with his departure. it still faces probes by new york state attorney general andrew cuomo, congress, and regulators over whether lewis misled investors about merrill's losses and bonuses. on top of that, the bank has yet to pay back the money it owes uncle sam as part of the tarp program. that said, plesser still think the stock is a good buy. >> reporter: he thinks the stock will get a big lift as soon as bank of america starts paying back it's $45 billion dollars in tarp funds. he thinks that could happen by the end of the ye

step down at the end of the year, ken lewis has been much criticized since the acquisition of merrill lynch. investigators are looking into whether lewis and other bank of america executives knew lewis paid huge bone newspapers despite losing money last year. bank of america got billions in ilouts from american taxpayers, a successor is expected to be named before lewis leaves. >> it's getting chilly in some areas, temps could drop below 50 degrees in some areas. bob is there to tell us about that. >> right here in washington, that hasn't happened since may. right now, we're at 57. we had also gusty winds, those are diminishing. already the temperature is below 50 and the heat may be on. winchester, martinsburg, frederic, there's a frost advisory out for western maryland and high valleys of west virginia out to the west of winchester. many spots tomorrow morning, high 30s, that's strong, it is october, october sun will be bringing back some warmer air as we go through the next couple of days, back to you. thanks, bob. >>> still ahead tonight, some unusual suspects charged with recruit i rec

he's leaving after a tenure maed and marred by the bank's puhase of merrill lynch january 1. lewis and b.o.a. have me under fire sin it was learned merrill gave billions of dlars in bonuseso employees while getting bailout money from t government. lewis says he's confidt in leaving now, becau b.o.a. is ready toeet the challenges of a global economy. the bank says lewis s a key pler in establishing it as a global finanal franchise and now it wl look for a succsor. joining meow on the phone for the last analysis of lis' retirement from b.o. is dick bovebank analyst at rochedale securities. her hell >> susie: why now? y the timing of today's departure? >> i think there are jt too many goverental actions being brout against the company. i think that newyork city and ohio are both sui the company. you've got the s. c., ngress, and a federal judge all nting to do something against the compan so that's the reason why now. >> susie: do you think that the obama administration had anything to do with lewis' departure? >> well, to the degree that they controlhe s. e. c., the answerould

after more than a year of controversy, over bonuses and big mergers, including the acquisition of merrill lynchnvestigation into lewis' role in the merrill deal will go on. >>> in potentially big media news this morning. comcast may be in talks to buy all or part of nbc universal. the sale would include the nbc and telemundo broadcast network, several cable channels and a movie studio. nbc's owners, g.e. and vivendi could get a lift from the deal. comcast is denying any talks of a merger. >>> comcast's stock price is lower on that news. this morning, tokyo's nikkei average fell over 145 points. in london, the ftse opened higher. wall street starts the fourth quarter with the dow jones industrial average at 9712, after slipping nearly 30 points yesterday. the nasdaq dropped almost 2 points to close at 2122. >>> in this morning's "new york times" tech review, acoustic pianos are great, if you have money and the space. if not, you might want to consider casio's px-130 keyboard. >> when you strike the keyboard more forcefully, the notes are louder, just like on a real piano. and when you're playing

thank you for joining us, jessica reif cohen of bank of america, merrill lynch.ow, dines talk to many analysts, but she has still and has always been the best. >> if content is out there to be king, why would this add any synergies when the shareholders hated the disney deal because they didn't see any synergies there? >> why are there synergies here? >> would there be -- didn't we hate the disney deal with comcast because -- >> yes. in this case, disney was a very different proposition. comcast surprised shareholders with this unsolicited bid that did comprise a good deal of stock, was going to be potentially dilutive. in this case, as i think jessica cohen just pointed out, the deal structure, if it were to happen -- and of course, we should point out, this is far from a done deal -- >> got you. >> nonetheless, if it did happen, it does give them an opportunity to control these content assets in a way that really doesn't involve the equity or taking on enormous amounts of debt, maintaining their investment-grade rating. i get why it might be seen as a positive

lewis has been under fire since the bank's takeover of merrill lynch in the midst of the financial crisis last year. no successor has been named yet. >>> auto sales slowed significantly meebl in the month of september after the cash for clunkers program ended. xw m sales down 47%. toyota down 16%. fords were down 8.9ers, and chrysler also fell by more than 44%. >>> there has been a slew of economic data this week, and the markets wrapped up their best quarter in years, but where are we headed next? joining me now jerry webman, chief economist with oppenheimer funds and stew schweitzer with jp morgan private bank. good to have you on the program. welcome. >> good to be here. sdoo stew, we got the jobs report. we know it was worse than expected. the economy is still shedding jobs. 9.8% of the country unemployed. what is your reaction? what do you make of this data? >> the human toll from this recession has just been so terribly high. i think we've got to look at the other side of all of this. companies have been preparing and are continuing to prepare for tough times, and that means that if

he has been under harsh criticism since the acquisition of merrill lynch on january 1. his departure is said to have no impact on an investigation. some bad news saturn of motives. altogether. to find other gm dealers to service their vehicle. current owners will have to find other gm dealers to service their vehicles. investors are betting that the economy is picking up steam. we have that story and more in a bloomberg business report. >> some economic reports are coming out this morning. we will start with manufacturing. a recovery is suggested to be on the way even without class for clunkers. the report is expected to show income is growing a fraction of a percent in august. the national association of realtors are expected to release numbers on contracts. let's not forget the job market. the labor department is expected to report a rise in initial jobless claims from last week. stocks are falling on an unexpected business activity. we are watching a columbia based company that may have to deal with another $30 million in property damage claims. they may be able to g

this caps off a year of controversy including the acquisition of merrill lynch. >> captain chesley sullenbergerurns to the cockpit today for the first time since his miracle landing. his first flight will be the same route he was on in january when his jet collided with geese, forcing him to land in the hudson river. >>> a tribute to china it is causing a stir in new york city. last night, the empire state building was lit up in red and yellow. some protesters demonstrated outside the building, many of them from tibet. >>> the olympic committee will decide tomorrow which of four cities will host the 2016 summer olympics. >> michelle obama arrived in denmark to yesterday to make a pitch for chicago. the other finalists include madrid, tokyo, and rio de janeiro. >> i am so excited to be here. we have a lot of work to do. i will go talk to se voters. >> other noteworthy americans are there including oprah winfrey and chicago mayor richard daley. president obama is expected to barrive tomorrow. he will fly nine hours each way to make great 45-minute presentation. >> and then back to work. >>> 5:47.

lewis is leaving amid heavy quit sichl of his bank's taking over merrill lynch. it breaks down to a cool $3.5 million a year. nice. >> wow. >>> let me give you good news. mortgage rates are back below 5%. that's the first time in about four months. check out the 30-year. this is according to freddie mac. 4.94. a 15-year is at record lows if you can swing the payments, but you save a lot in interest, 4.36%. >> thank you, jen. >>> an art exhibit in california is stopping some people right in their tracks and that just what the creators wanted. take a look at the banner at fresno city hall. it's made dozens of decorated bras, many of them created by breast cancer survivors. the idea here is to call attention to breast cancer awareness month. they do just that when you look close at them. very interesting. >>> okay. what are we covering here next? cops say a bystander intervened to prevent a little girl from being molested. something wasn't right. but with no uniform police nearby, who would come to the rescue. >>> why john travolta's lawyer says why he refused to pa

the bloomberg merrill lynch index falling almost 3%. lockheed martin said the governments around the world will start finding it increasingly difficult to fund their security needs. at the new york stock exchange, jane king. >> david letterman revealed someone was trying to blackmail him about past sexual relationships with female employees. the announcement came on the same day he testified to a grand jury that someone threatened to release details of his relationship unless he was paid $2 million. letterman never identified the extortionist. sources say the suspect is robert halderman, a cbs news producer. meanwhile, an autopsy reveals michael jackson was not as thickly as some first thought immediately after his death. the report claims jackson was in good health with a strong hearts and other major organs were normal. they reported no illegal drugs in his system. the cause of death is listed as a result of an overdose of a sedative administered without any medical need for it. >> the last time they met, it came down to the final min

you're saying he gave too much for merrill lynch. >> do we believe the story that he wasn't forced outsult of this investigation? >> you know, i listened to squak. you stuck with it and were very polite. ultimately, this was ken's decision, which doesn't really answer the question as you know whether he was really sort of presented with an ul ta may tum. >> between the s.e.c. and cuomo, the potential for indictment or civil cases, that's what tossed him over. i don't think it was the price of merrill or the disclosure. we've got to get out of here. >> michael, thanks for joining us. >> thanks for making the suggestion about larry as the new ceo of bank of america. >>> the live shot there, they're still in recess. we are going to take you back to the bernanke financial regulation hearing once it resumes. back in two minutes. (announcer) this is nine generations of the world's most revered luxury sedan. this is a history of over 50,000 crash-tested cars... this is the world record for longevity and endurance. and one of the most technologically advanced automobiles on the planet. this is

he is leaving amid heavy criticism over his bank's takeover of merrill lynch. he'll get $3.5 million a year nor the rest of his life. >> for the rest of us, here's good news in a bad economy. if you can get away for a trip now, it's a great time to go. ultra cheap deals are out there. >> do i have great news for you if, a, your job is secure and you're not carrying extraordinary amounts of debt. this is the best bargain time i can remember in forever for you to take a trip somewhere. why? everybody else can't afford to or is afraid to go. the deals have gotten better and better and better. hotels.com, the big hotel booking site, reports the average cost of a hotel room this year versus last year is down 17%. that's a big number. and if you really shop around, hotel rates are the lowest i can remember in this decade. air flights around the u.s. and overseas ultra, ultra, ultra cheap for fall. kids are back in school. they're begging for customers. i'm clark howard. for more money saving tips go to my website at cnn.com/clarkhoward. >>> great deals out there. get

lewis and bank of america have come under fire for its acquisition of merrill lynch. new york state attorney general andrew cuomo is looking into that deal and says lewis' announcement won't impact the investigation. >> well, this morning there's an inresting debate regarding the swine flu. some parents are intentionally exposing their children to that virus. they're arguing that it builds a natural immunity to the sickness, but many officials are warning against that. brady smith reports. >> reporter: doug beardsley says intentionally putting children in an environment where they have a good chance of catching h1n1 is risky at best. >> most people completely recover but there is a danger for severe consequens so why would anybody even want to go through that when, one, it's not inevitable. and, two there is a gamble to it. >> reporter: many parents still try to expose their kids to chicken pox at an early age to get it out of the way and build up a natural immunity, even though a chicken pox vaccine is available. but beardsley says using that philosophy with h1n1 str

he has been embattled from the way he handled the merrill lynch acquisition lastier. they are still under several government probes. it may be seen as a positive. they are down one and a half percent yesterday. they may actually climb today. >> keeping an eye on general motors too. let us know how this whole teal with not being able to unload saturn, how that is going to affect general motors? >> penske said last night they are not interested anymore. they couldn't get the supply chain situation worked out with saturn. they are got fog to buy sad der. general motors will now have to shutter the brand like he did with pontiac. they will close about 350 saturn dealerships and let go about 1,000 employees and we will no longer see saturns on the road or at least new sat you weres being sold here coming soon. >> tough news there. apparently, you will still able to bet your car serviced iyou had it but you won't find any new ones. >>> coming up next, two neighborhoods on edge after three children and a teenager targeted in an attempted abduction. >>> also ahead, the late o

billions poured into wall street an resulted in american taxpayers, owning large slices of aig, and merrill lynchnd kept the nation from h brink of economic collapse. critics say it only rewarded reckless behavior. with the unemployment rate climbing, president obama is looking for new ways to sell his health care plan. in his weakly web address, the president talks about how a new health care system could have ended up creating more jobs. >> we know that reforming our health insurance system will be a critical step in rebuilding our economy, so our entrepreneurs can pursue this american dream again. and our small businesses can grow and expand and create new jobs again. >> in the g.o.p. response, congresswoman candice miller says obama's health care plan will only end up hurting the economy, not helping it. >> our plan is based on the belief that fast acting tax relief is the most effective way to put or economy back on track. it focuses on helping small businesses, create jobs, not spending more taxpayer dollars to expand government. >> julie: the unemployment rate rose to 9.8% in september, th

bank of america is a massive enterprise now, particularly with the merrill lynch acquisition. but we're going to get some clarity about this in the coming weeks. there's a lot of talk about an emergency ceo. i believe the journal ran a headline on that. let me give a common sense here. if they -- the only way you hire an emergency ceo is if cuomo, the s.e.c. charges ken lewis -- ken lewis is going to be here to the end of the year, at least that's what they're saying. if the s.e.c. charges him, certainly he's got to go. if there's a criminal charge, he certainly has to go. the question is, would that charge occur before the end of the month. it's possible. it's possible cuomo's expediting matters. from what i understand, they're still a way away from the sense that cuomo wants to interview board members. that can't be done in -- very quickly. unless cuomo's ramping up this thing really fast with lewis' resignation, chances are you won't have an emergency ceo. you'll have, you know, whoever they pick by the end of the month. like i said, there's talk about an interim ceo, someb

. >> we have 30,000 brokers too at merrill lynch.nd believe me, you know, when sallee krawchuk is looking down at that organization she can't walk from cube to cube. it's a global organization. but they're able to get the dashboards and see exactly what's going on. at the macro or all the way down to the micro level. but it's not just for sales and service. it's also to build any application on our servers. >> what's this? >> this is a website. in fact, any website can be built on salesforce.com. that's cloud computing. here's a website that starbucks just built on our server. this is live. pledgefive.starbucks.com. you can log in now. howard schultz went on oprah. he said hey, go into a starbucks, you can volunteer five hours of community service and do that work anywhere in the world. we'll give you a free cup of coffee. but he needed a system to track all that information. who are we giving the coffee to? where are they going? >> he'll actually beat me up, the oracle guy. >> so now here's the website. but wait, this is the same sy

lewis is leaving amid heavy criticism over his bank's takeover of merrill lynch. by the way, that number breaks down to a cool $3.5 million a year for the rest of his life. let's get you some good news after what, jobs is depressing and that one is kind of disgusting. for anyone in the housing market you'll like this one. mortgage rates back below 5% or maybe if you didn't refinance before take a look. there is the 30 year right under that level for the first time in four months. this is from freddie mac and the 15 year is a record low. if you can swing the monthly payment you will pay a lot less in interest over the course of the loan than you would with the 30 year. >>> all right. many women have overcome big challenges in their lives and they hope their stories could inspire you. take suze orman. you probably know she's a millionaire now, respected financial expert, award winning tv host, but did you know that 30 years ago she was a waitress struggling to make ends meet? this is her new series breakthrough women and she is telling her story so other women can h

i like him as an executive, and i think at the end of the day two years, three years from now, merrill lynchill be spun off as an ipo. >> one more question on his resignation, he doesn't and they are leaderless, right? no succession plan. there's something very strange here. why wouldn't they come together and say let's get the next person ready to go here? >> well, i think he's going to stay on through the end of the year, correct? >> okay, that's three months, yes. >> i think in the next three months they'll find their candidate. i think they will have to search outside and inside the firm. >> what is this going to do for b and a. andrew cuomo made it very clear this does not change his investigation by the new york attorney general's office. the s.e.c. is still looking at him. nothing will change in that regard, will it? >> that's absolutely correct. i think you had ken lewis as a lightning rod, and that's what everyone was focused on. so i think things can probably move along a lot smoother now. >> you think it sends a message that other ceos in the financial services industry should pay

. >> heather evans from merrill lynch from the vienna office. very good advice today.you a call. >> definitely give me a call. >> she's getting back to work. >> busy, busy, busy. >>> and you have heard that cockroaches can survive anything, including a nuclear attack. inspiring to some scientists. >>> and holly is live in alexandria with details on some fun events coming up at the torpedo factory. we'll check in with holly as well. it's 8:22. cute kid. bet you think that carpet is pretty clean, huh? i just vacuumed a second ago. yes, but you've only cleaned the surface. vacuuming alone won't get the sticky dirt that's buried deep down in your carpet. resolve high traffic foam removes the deep sticky dirt that vacuuming can't. just spray it on, rub in gently, and vacuum away. using resolve regularly will keep this mess from staying in your carpet. ugh. that's clean! really clean! don't just vacuum clean. resolve clean. >>> making headline this is morning, search team have lost hope of finding any survivors of the two deadly earthquakes overseas and now shifting focus to

he's been under the fire of the acquisition of merrill lynch. just reminder of what the big deal that was, that was during the height of the financial meltdown, more than a year ago. at the time, the economy was seen as right near the brink, the financial system could collapse. the economy could go with it. and his bold move to buy the company, you know he was hailed as a hero as a savor, somebody who helped the country. a lot of questions since then. not nearly as complimentary. >> critics saying that he may have been forced to make that deal go through. >> that has come up as well. but no successor has been named yet. we'll watch that one. >> thank you, a lot. proper english used here. thanks much. >>> china celebrating its rise to world power, the 60th anniversary of thousands of troops marching in beijing's tea anna minute square phone the celebration. new york, red and yellow lights honoring china let up it empire state building. some say it's wrong because of the communist country poor human rights records. jets in the sky show their milit

of america files but he is leaving of course amid heavy criticism over his bank's takeover of merrill lynch but even with all the criticism, $3.5 million a year for the rest of his life. how is he going to live on that? >> exactly. >> all right. there uyou go. thank you, jen. >>> elizabeth smart was just 14 years old when she was kidnapped from her bedroom. now she is telling the chilling details about what happened to her and police say they found more than a pound of pot in the last place you might expect. >>> so for the first time elizabeth smart is talking publicly about her kidnapping seven years ago. yesterday in court she described her kidnapper brian david mitchell as evil, wicked, and slimy. that's a quote. she says mitchell raped her three or four times a day. and threatened to kill her as she tried to escape. smart's father says she actually wanted to face mitchell in court and asked if he could be muzzled for the hearing. >> there were certainly a lot of things that i had never heard before. and i had -- and i had no idea what she had gone through, so much out there. >> so diffi

the weather was citigroup, what happened with bank of america and merrill lynch earlier in the year,rp money doled out to these institutions, even in the bill out of iraq -- of aig, which is ultimately passed bailout of their counterparties in some of these derivative insurance pacs. right now, it is very difficult to value these banks and to preaching -- appreciate how true tier 1 or tier 2 capital they may have begun some of them have become almost quasi governmental. if the government as the men and backstop the portions of the balance sheet of a bank, do you look at it as a struggling bank or an adjunct of the federal government, something effectively fdic insured? i think not only do you have outright nationalization of certain institutions, but creeping nationalization. it is very frustrating for the bond market to be able to price the cost of capital. what should these banks pay to borrow money if they are, in fact, backstop for the most credit where the borrower and issuer in the world, the full faith and credit of the united states government? something went through last yea