Peter Kraus has impeccable timing. He was hired at Merrill Lynch this past September, just a couple of days before CEO John Thain engineered the sale of the firm to Bank of America. Then Friday he left the firm forever, just after the $25 million bonus he got from the sale kicked in. His job description at Merrill was "overseeing the firm’s business strategy and investments; global growth plans and opportunities." So we guess he oversaw that shit. Or, you know, watched it happen. Anyway. Nicely done. Happy holidays, Peter! Cheers to you not getting mauled by angry taxpayers in 2009! [Deal Journal/WSJ]