New York State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer has slapped the plutocrats at Merrill Lynch with a court order requiring them to disclose banking relationships with companies covered by their "analysts".

the AG says his office conducted an investigation that turned up "dramatic" evidence that "the firm's supposedly objective investment advice was tainted and biased by the desire to aid Merrill Lynch’s investment banking business."

in other words, Merrill's media darlings (like Henry "Amazon @ $400" Blodgett) would publicly be giving the thumbs up to companies like 24/7 Media, while privately calling the stock "a piece of shit." the juicy details are available in an affidavit Spitzer filed in support of their request for a court order (it's a PDF).

Elliot might also want to ask why Merrill Lynch thought Enron merited a "neutral" rating (remember, "neutral" is supposed to mean "could go up or down 10% -- we don't know") 30 days before it went chapter 11?

things finally percolated through to my ISP. a week without blogging -- and i lived to tell the tale!