Merrill's Thain Expects Extended Downturn

He also dismissed the idea that national or regional stock markets could perform differently across the globe. “There is no such thing as decoupling,” he said, referring to the popular theory that emerging markets could sustain reasonable growth even while the world’s leading economies suffered recessions. “All equity markets are linked. Each individual economy will be more or less affected, depending on reliance on global trade and commerce.”

However, he was more upbeat about the industry. “I’m cautiously optimistic that things are starting to get better in financial services,” Thain said. And in terms of the company he leads into a merger with Bank of America, “We’re in a good space to weather this economic storm,” he said. The deal should give Merrill Lynch’s 16,700 financial advisors access to BofA’s “huge pool of wealthy individuals”, he said.