Merrill Restricts Research Access

A Merrill Lynch (MER Quote) memo shows that the big Wall Street firm plans to cut back on public access to its stock research.

The New York-based firm will bar nonclients from accessing research on its Web site and delay releasing analyst reports to the media, the memo says.

"Much like the music and film industries before us, Merrill Lynch research is in the throes of being Napsterized," head of global securities research Candace Browning wrote in a letter to clients on Thursday.