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Tuesday, January 7, 2014

BoA-Merrill Lynch shuts European power and gas trading desk, (NYSE: BAC), (NYSE: MS)

Bank of America-Merrill Lynch shut its European power and gas sales and trading operation on Tuesday, the fourth major player to close parts of its commodities business as tighter regulation and fewer arbitrage opportunities erode profits.Last month Morgan Stanley sold its main physical oil trading unit to Russian state-run oil major Rosneft, and Deutsche Bank said it was largely exiting commodities trading. In July, JPMorgan put its physical trading operations up for sale.The sector is now dominated by commodities trading houses and utilities, with Barclays, Citi and Goldman Sachs among the only remaining large banks with a significant presence.Difficulties around speculative trading in the growing renewables market has also dented profitability, traders say.

Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) is a bank holding company, and a financial holding company. Shares of BAC traded higher by 0.12% or $0.02/share to $16.68. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $10.98 and as high as $16.73. On average, 92958400 shares of BAC exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 13231192.

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides its products and services to a range of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals. Shares of MS traded higher by 0.33% or $0.105/share to $31.72. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $19.41 and as high as $31.93. On average, 11689400 shares of MS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 596456.



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