The markets saw a late-day surge Thursday as investors digested Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) CEO Ken Lewis' leaked testimony from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's investigation into the bonus payments at Merrill Lynch & Co. The Dow finished up 70.49, or .89%, to 7,957.06, and the Nasdaq inched up 6.09, or .37%, to 1,652.21.
Shares of BofA finished up 56 cents, or 6.68%, to $8.82 following The Wall Street Journal's publication of testimony from Lewis that he and other BofA executives would have lost their jobs had the bank not kept the agreement to acquire Merrill Lynch. Cuomo said Thursday that Lewis was pressured to comply with the merger by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
Lewis did not disclose the information to shareholders, which will likely heighten the call for his resignation at the April 29 shareholder meeting.
"He violated his duty to protect shareholders in order to protect himself, and now shareholders are shouldering the burden of those consequences," said CtW Investment Group's Michael Garland, who supports a proxy to remove Lewis.
Meanwhile, Hartford Financial Services rose 15 cents, or 1.55%, to $9.83 as it's seeking bids from rivals for its cornerstone property insurance business, according to Bloomberg News. - Gerald Magpily
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