A team from leading global financial management and advisory company Merrill Lynch met with President Hipolito Mejia and Finance Minister Rafael Calderon yesterday, to offer advice on the current economic situation. The proposal will be made public soon, said Calderon as he left the meeting. The minister commented on the recent downgrading of the Dominican economy by a number of international risk assessors, saying that “just because this has happened it does not mean the country is on its knees.” He told reporters that his job was to find ways out of the problems and to improve the country’s economy.