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Bank of America Corp, the lender that is buying Merrill Lynch & Co, is preparing for a weaker economy by slashing its dividend in half and raising at least $10 billion in a sale of common stock.

The dividend was cut to 32 cents a share, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said on Monday. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis said the US economy slowed in the past 45 days with little prospect for immediate improvement.

"The recession is going to be a little deeper than we thought," Lewis said on a conference call. "It's going to take some more time and some more pain."