Despite stock up and downs, Merrill Lynch doing well

Good news for Merrill Lynch, they are reporting profits up 30 percent for the first quarter.

The results surpassed expectations, and cemented the notion that major financial companies have emerged unscathed from the stock market's turbulent first quarter, the cooling U.S. economy and troubles in subprime lending.

The New York-based company reported net income of $2.11 billion, or $2.26 per share, after preferred dividends. This was up from $432 million, or 44 cents per share, a year ago, when it recorded $1.2 billion in one-time compensation expenses. Excluding those expenses, the company earned $1.61 billion, or $1.65 per share, a year ago.