Tomorrow's Headliners: Ken Lewis

Bank of America (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis will be in the spotlight Thursday when he testifies before Congress on the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

In his prepared testimony, obtained by Bloomberg, Lewis maintains the Federal Reserve forced him to purchase ailing Merrill Lynch. BofA acquired Merrill in September, but Lewis contacted officials at the Fed and Treasury Department in mid-December, after shareholders approved the deal. Lewis told the officials the bank was considering scrapping the transaction because of "significant accelerating losses," according to Bloomberg's report.

"Treasury and Federal Reserve representatives asked us to delay any such action," Lewis will say during his testimony, according to the report. "Both the government and Bank America were aware that the global financial system was in fragile condition, and that a collapse of Merrill Lynch could hasten a crisis."

In February, Lewis testified that he had been advised by former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke not to disclose details of Merrill's difficult financial position, according to New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

On Monday, the Fed was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee for emails and documents related to the BofA-Merrill deal. According to a report Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal, Bernanke and other Fed officials sharply criticized BofA and Lewis in the subpoenaed emails.

In addition to Lewis' testimony, investors will have plenty on their plates. Thursday's main economic report will be retail sales data for May, which is expected to show a 0.3% rise last month after a surprising 0.4% dip in April. Excluding auto sales, retail sales are expected to have climbed 0.2% last month.