Merrill Lynch (MER) followed up an extremely strong day (+13.4%) with more important news after the close. It said it is selling its stake in Bloomberg back to the company for $4.5 billion. Investment banks are doing what it takes to raise more capital and selling assets is a great way to do that. CNBC said that the price was the midpoint of what both parties wanted. This could be a good sign that Merrill didn’t settle for a lowball offer. That would have certainly stunk of desperation. It is remained to be seen whether or not today’s gains can be built upon.