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Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Get Quote: MER
Price on 12/17/08: $13
Total return: -78%

Uggh. The stock price had already been halved when we recommended it, and we bet that John Thain never would have taken the CEO job if Merrill's balance sheet was truly toxic.

Boy were we wrong. The only saving grace is that Thain finagled a buyout from Bank of America before Merrill followed Lehman Brothers down the drain.

Our advice: Take the tax loss and remember it could have been worse.

NEXT: Petrobras

Last updated December 22 2008: 10:11 AM ET
Note: Starting date for all total return data is 12/3/07, except Genentech, which is 12/5/07.
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