Closing Bell: Stock traders finally love the oil ticker

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER) was a mixed "love and hate" today, although by the end of the day shares were up over 5% at $25.677 in the final minutes. The company raised an effective $8.5 billion for an implied 20% dilution to get many CDO's off the books. Meredith Whitney of Oppenheimer calls this good news despite a cautious rating, while many now question John Thayne's credibility over the dilution he said wouldn't occur.

Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) saw gains today after the company disclosed that it sold its 2-millionth unit of the $99.00 Palm Centro smartphone. Shares were up 10% at $6.32 in today's final minutes.

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) took yet another drumming today. The firm completed the XM merger but disclosed a huge share sale and its huge 7% debt offering has an effective conversion price of $1.875. Shares were down another 15% at $1.58 in today's final minutes. Cramer said it was about as safe as investing in a lotto ticket.

Sony Corp. ADR (NYSE: SNE) had a bad day as earnings fell 47% on flat sales, with electronics sales down 50% on price cuts and competition. The Sony-Ericsson phone venture barely made money at all, but the one bright spot here is that its video game unit is back to making money. Shares were down 6% at $37.49 (new 52-week low into close) in the final minutes.