Just as Baier was mulling over what to do, Nasdaq began its swan dive.

FORBES: Survivor

To reassure Merrill loyalists, Thain called back fixed-income adviser Jeffrey Kronthal, who had been purged in 2006 for opposing O'Neal's swan dive into subprime mortgages.

FORBES: No Thain, No Gain

With oil prices reversing early declines on growing skepticism over the ability of one Hugo Chavez to help out his good buddy over in Libya, one might have expected to see stock prices give up those big gains and take a swan dive into the close.

FORBES: Upgrade Parade Continues After Encouraging Jobs Data