discussions with the Port Authority and developer Larry Silverstein to move to Tower 3 when its current lease at 4 World Financial Center runs out in 2013. Now, according to those reports, it will look to renew this lease and stay put.

This is just the latest in a spate of recent woes plaguing both the WTC site and Merrill. New York Gov. David Paterson had previously called on the Port Authority to reassess the future of the WTC, and the results yielded 15 fundamental issues. For example, the P.A. has not completed the final designs of the WTC Transportation Hub. Without them, the P.A. cannot predict a completion date or cost for the project, nor any of the related projects. The P.A. has been ordered by Paterson to have a report by September 30th on the reorganization of the command structure and a plan to solve the 15 fundamental issues. Larry Silverstein insists that his three buildings, Towers 2, 3 and 4, are all on schedule for completion in 2012.

"Right now, the entire Silverstein Properties World Trade Center team is focused on working with the government to resolve the design and construction issues identified by the Port Authority in its recent report to the Governor," says Janno Lieber, president of World Trade Center Properties, an affiliate of Silverstein Properties, in a statement. "As well as ongoing uncertainties about the Port Authority's schedule to complete vital site infrastructure. It is urgent that these issues be resolved in order to accelerate the rebuilding of the entire World Trade Center site."

Merrill Lynch reportedly backed out of talks three days after the P.A.'s announcement of the massive set-backs in the construction, resulting in a re-evaluation of their original timetable. But in a market riding roughshod over the financials market and anticipated Merrill Q2 losses averaging a little over $4 per share, speculation is that a relocation might be ill-timed. GlobeSt.com reached out to Merrill, however they have "no comment" at this time.