[url]http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122870455251587405.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_mostpop[/url]

[quote] Merrill has suffered net losses of $11.67 billion this year and is about to complete its acquisition by [URL="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=bac"]Bank of America [/URL]Corp. later this month. On Friday, shareholders of both companies separately approved the deal. Mr. Thain has said he deserves a bonus because he helped avert what could have been a much larger crisis at the firm, say people familiar with his thinking.

Since taking over as Merrill's chairman and chief executive officer last December, Mr. Thain cleaned up messes inherited from his predecessor, and the takeover agreement in September averted a possible collapse of the 94-year-old company. Mr. Thain's decision to sell Merrill likely salvaged billions of dollars for shareholders and saved a huge number of jobs at the firm, even though thousands of positions will be eliminated following the takeover. [/quote]