Daily Dispatches: does Ritchie work for Merrill, or not?

A court has been told that Dan Ritchie, the Merrill Lynch executive at the centre of insider trading allegations made by former client David Waterhouse, may no longer be an employee of the bank. Merrill has refused to confirm whether Ritchie remains on its payroll. (Sydney Morning Herald)

A peek into the lives of three Aussie hedge fund whiz kids in London. (The Australian)

Macquarie's Asia equity strategist returns to Australia to join Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. (Finance Asia)

Unions demand cap on exec pay. (Financial Times)

The big banks are making bigger margins out of lending than they did before the financial crisis, but at the expense of businesses, not mortgage borrowers. (Business Day)

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has confirmed it's making changes to the way capital raisings are made. (Sky News)

Australian insurers and reinsurers made an underwriting loss of $850m in the year to March 31, dragged down by a 26 per cent increase in claims, according to statistics published yesterday by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. (The Australian)