<ARTICLE>                        5
<CIK>                            0001051829
<NAME>                           MERRILL LYNCH PERFERRED CAPITAL TRUST III
       
                              
<PERIOD-TYPE>                    OTHER
<FISCAL-YEAR-END>                           DEC-25-1998
<PERIOD-START>                              DEC-27-1997
<PERIOD-END>                                MAR-27-1998
<CASH>                                                0
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<COMMON>                                     23,196,000
<OTHER-SE>                                            0
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<SALES>                                               0
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<CGS>                                                 0
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