More Gossip, Rumor & Fact On BofA / Merrill Lynch

First up, Charlie Gasparino has been writing for The Daily Beast, and opining on the relationship between former Merrill CEO John Thain and Bank of America boss Ken Lewis. And, so the rumors go, things are hotting up. Lewis is said to be miffed that Thain has implied that he is in pole position to succeed him, and hinted that, at 61, Lewis might have not much longer to serve. The BofA boss is also thought to be concerned that Thain doesn't appear to be able to get on with his executive team - both Greg Fleming (who headed up investment banking) and Bob McCann (the top man over at the brokerage unit) announced last week that they were stepping down. Both are thought to have issues with Thain's  management style, and some say that they quit the organisation primarily because of him.

And worse, rumors abound that Lewis doesn't even like Thain. Interesting times ahead, then, in BankofAmericaMerrill land.

Finally, Bloomberg reports that BofA told employees Tuesday that that it intends to call its brokerage business 'Merrill Lynch Wealth Management', and will continue to use Merrill's 'bull' logo. BofA said that the brand name and logo decisions were taken after extensive customer and potential customer research.

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