1- SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Tuesday upgraded Merrill Lynch & Co.'s long-term counterparty credit rating to A+ from A and affirmed its A-1 short-term counterparty credit rating. "The ratings action follows Bank of America Corp.'s acquisition of Merrill Lynch and equalizes our ratings on Merrill Lynch with those on Bank of America," said S&P's credit analyst John Bartko. The outlook is negative and the rating on BAC is not affected by the close of the deal.

2 - Bank of America(BAC) is announcing that Bob McCann, who has led Merrill Lynch's 16,000 brokerage division since 2003, is stepping down.
This news follows November's announcement that the top executive of Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Asian investment banking unit was leaving the U.S.-based brokerage.
It seems that the deal did have its opponents who felt the cultures were too different for the synergies to be effective. We have said that buying an investment bank like Merrill Lynch is far from a layup for any acquirer. If the acquirer cannot retain and keep superstar brokers, then there is a likelihood that assets can walk out the door as well. It will be interesting to watch the combination materialize over time. We had removed shares of Bank of America from our "Recommended" list back on Sept. 15, when the stock traded at $33.74. We would still avoid the name at this current time.

3 - SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis warned that 2008 results will fall short of expectations and said executives at the giant lender, including him, shouldn't get bonuses for last year.
Bank of America CEO sees 2008 results below expectations - MarketWatch

4 - Bloomberg) Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank, is planning to sell up to $2.8 billion of its China Construction Bank Corp. shares, according to sales documents being distributed in the marketplace
Bloomberg.com: Worldwide