Executive Summary As a student enrolled for a management degree with Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University College of Business Administration, I was afforded the opportunity to pursue academic credit through an internship with a local business house that concerns itself with my studies. The internship is offered to any business school senior who meets certain university standards. I was presented with a chance to earn academic credit at the Dubai office of Merrill Lynch, an international brokerage firm. The internship enabled getting valuable knowledge on several issues connected with the studies and at the same time, assisted in gaining invaluable experience in a private sector organization. Completing the academic requirements for the internship, this report summarizes the activities at Merrill Lynch and serves as evidence of the accomplishments during the internship. This internship presents the background of the company and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the company through a SWOT analysis undertaken. Despite the financial issues faced by it, the company retains its reputation in the industry as an efficient brokerage firm. After being taken over by Bank of America, significant changes have been brought in the working of the company. The report touches upon the marketing and competitive strategies of Merrill Lynch to give the readers an idea on the functioning of the company. A significant portion of the report deals with the technical part representing actual projects undertaken including problems and issues handled during the internship. The report is concluded with a summary of findings on the probability of potential changes in the corporate, growth and marketing strategies of Merrill Lynch and recommendations in these areas for improvement in the performance of the company. Overall, the internship was helpful in learning ways of using classroom information in the real business world and the internship exposed in a practical way to many areas, which were taught in the classroom theoretically. The report concludes with the remark that the knowledge and experience gained in the internship cannot be replicated within the confines of the campus. Acknowledgement I take this opportunity to thank several people who were associated with my internship program and provided their valuable time and guidance in making me improve my skills and knowledge in a most practical way. First of all I would like to thank, ………the internship supervisor for his valuable time spent on answering my unceasing queries and doubts in amidst his busy working schedule. Without his support, I could not have completed this internship program to my greatest advantage. I would like to place on record my heart-felt thanks to all the professionals, executives and advisors of Merrill Lynch Dubai for helping me to complete the internship successfully. At various points of time during the internship, they helped me clearing a number of doubts, which enhanced my knowledge. I would also like to thank my academic supervisor …… for providing me this lifetime opportunity of sharpening my skills. I thank every one in the University who have helped me to complete the training successfully. Introduction There exists a close relationship b