Merrill Lynch fires analyst for allegedly tipping clients

NEW YORK -- Three months after agreeing to pay a $100 million fine and revamp its stock analyst research practices, Merrill Lynch & Co. fired a top analyst for allegedly tipping off clients that he planned to reduce an earnings estimate.

The nation's biggest brokerage fired Peter Caruso "because he violated the firm's policy regarding disclosure of an earnings estimate change and due to a loss of management confidence," Merrill Lynch said in a statement Thursday.

Caruso downgraded Home Depot shares on July 12 to "neutral" from "strong buy" and reduced his 2002 earnings estimate for the Atlanta-based home-improvement retailer.

But Caruso suggested a day earlier to institutional investors that he might reduce the earnings estimate, said a source familiar with Caruso's firing who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Home Depot shares fell nearly 6 percent on July 11 and dropped more than 7 percent on July 12.

Caruso's lawyer, Julian Friedman, didn't return a telephone message seeking comment.

Merrill Lynch agreed to the fine and the analyst reforms after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer revealed a 10-month investigation that uncovered e-mails from Merrill Lynch analysts disparaging stocks that they publicly praised.