MERRILL LYNCH <MER> DISPUTES MOODY'S DOWNGRADE
Merrill Lynch and Co said it feels the
cut in its credit rating by Moody's Investors Service is not
justified in view of the company's improvement in profitability
and increase in equity capital in 1986.
    Moody's earlier today downgraded six billion dlrs of
Merrill debt, citing lagging profitability relative to other
brokerage firms and increased competition.
    Merrill said it was disappointed by Moody's conclusion. It
noted that earnings more than doubled in 1986 to 454 mln dlrs.
Equity capital rose 23 pct to 2.9 billion dlrs and return on
average equity rose to 17.5 pct from 10.2 pct in 1985.
 Reuter
