And so, in the last couple of months, the era of the independent investment bank has ended. Wall Street as we've known it for decades has ceased to exist. Six months ago there were five major investment banks: two -- Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns --- have failed, Merrill Lynch is selling itself to Bank of America, and now the last two are becoming commercial banks. Adam Smith, that great market disciplinarian, was punishing excesses and remaking the American finance long before Congress can get into the act.
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