41.   The planned stock sale, which had been expected, is the first such initial public offering by a big brokerage firm in some time.

42.   The program is exclusively geared for Merrill right now, but tests for similar participation by other big brokerages might start in New York as early as next month.

43.   The situation today is not as bad as last fall, but it has made many big brokerage houses wary of committing themselves to a position.

44.   They talked to the chief technology officers at big brokerage firms and banks to find out what their spending needs might be.

45.   Those other big brokerages rose.

46.   This highly desirable group is the target of the big brokerage firms, which are rushing to provide online service to compete with online discount brokers.

47.   To be sure, predicting market moves carries risks, and none of the big brokerage firms are recommending that investors pour all their assets into European stocks.

48.   To the dismay of small investors, the big brokerage houses have dominated the IPO market for years.

49.   Unlike most big brokerages and insurance companies, Primerica relies on a legion of part-time salespeople to market its products.

50.   WALL STREET POURS IT ON Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns and Paine Webber joined the list of big brokerage firms reporting double-digit earnings gains for the latest quarter.