(The Wall Street Journal) -- The six-year reign of E. Stanley O'Neal at Merrill Lynch has been one of contradictions. He was a loner in an industry that places a premium on relationships. And he pushed Merrill into risky investments despite his experience as chief financial officer, where assessing risk was one of his responsibilities.

NEW YORK -- Whenever Goldman Sachs Group Inc. would report quarterly profits in recent years, the pain would be felt nearby, at the downtown headquarters of Merrill Lynch & Co.