Merrill Lynch, the Wall Street bank at the centre of an inquiry into conflicts of interest, has fired a top Tyco analyst, according to the UK newspaper The Independent. The bank has fired Phula Young, one of its top analysts, for sending out research reports to clients without management approval.

Mr Young, who was ranked as number one multi-industry analyst by the Institution Investor magazine, was well known as a long-term and bullish supporter of Tyco, the Bermuda-based conglomerate that last week abandoned restructuring plans