Per MarketWatch, the rumor mill is bandying about both Wells Fargo and Merrill Lynch as potential purchase targets for JP Morgan Chase:

First Washington Mutual, now Wells Fargo, and even talk (we’re told) of Merrill Lynch. Everyone, it seems, wants to know who JP Morgan Chase is taking to the proverbial prom.

A source had suggested Wells Fargo to me privately, but seeing it mentioned in another news report gives me an excuse to bring it up as water-cooler fodder. HW reported earlier on rumors that JPMorgan may have an interest in Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest thrift. At this point, I think the question is no longer who JPMorgan is thinking about taking to the prom — it’s who isn’t on that short list. Disclosure: At the time this post was published, the author held various put option contracts on WM; no positions in other companies mentioned.