Money world

Merrill Lynch & Co Inc’s (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) perennially optimistic chief executive has made something of a habit of promising not to issue common shares, only to raise capital weeks later.

So far, though, investors seem to be cutting him a fair amount of slack. In fact on Tuesday after John Thain’s latest about-face, Merrill’s shares rose 7.9 percent.

But patience for the former Goldman Sachs and NYSE executive’s flip flops may wear thin, critics said.

“This may be the last time, or you could see more writedowns. You just don’t know,” said Jim Huguet, co-chief executive at fund manager Great Companies.

Merrill Lynch said on Monday it was raising $8.5 billion capital after agreeing to sell toxic debt assets at a loss.

The share sale comes less than two weeks after Thain said on a conference call with investors, “Right now, we believe we are in a very comfortable spot in terms of our capital.”

Thain has been making positive statements about the bank’s capital for months online payday advance. In an April interview with Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Thain said, “The goal is to maintain our current ratings. No more capital raising; I’m sure we have enough capital.”

Weeks later, the company issued more than $2.5 billion of preferred shares. 

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