Well-placed sources say that Steve Pearson has left Bank of Scotland Treasury – as HBoS calls its dealing operations – where he was chief currency strategist. The word is he is taking Merrill Lynch’s silver, although Merrill has declined to comment. Its reticence is odd; after all, Pearson’s appointment is not likely to prove a share price mover. Pearson also ran a model-trading programme at Bank of Scotland. It is not known whether his role at Merrill will be forecasting or model trading.