Advised by Bank of American Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, the combined company will result in the largest consumer based digital data storage companies.

FORBES: Consolidation In The Hard Drive Market As Western Digital Pays $4.3 Billion For Hitachi's GST Unit

That said, the Bank of American Merrill Lynch High-Grade Bond Master Index is up 3.75% through April 30 as a result of spread compression across the credit markets from the more lofty levels of the fourth quarter.

FORBES: Connect

Meanwhile, Nissan, Honda and Chrysler will stand pat in terms of share of a recovering American auto sector, predicts John Murphy, analyst for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in the annual analysis he calls Car Wars.

FORBES: Only Ford, GM, Toyota To Gain Share Through 2015, Study Says

Merrill Lynch, another American investment bank, found in a recent survey of European fund managers that only 10% thought that countries mattered for their investment decisions, but 76% said it was crucial to be in the right sector.

ECONOMIST: When countries don��t count

Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch calculate that in the first week of this earnings season the number of American companies reporting better-than-expected sales outstripped the number reporting better-than-expected profits.

ECONOMIST: American business

Lehman's bankruptcy filing on Monday, Merrill Lynch's merger deal with Bank of America, and the government's rescue of American International Group on Tuesday prompted a wave of selling in financial stocks Wednesday.

FORBES: Magazine Article