Source:
AP - Via USA TodayNEW YORK — Merrill Lynch (MER), the nation's largest brokerage, said Wednesday that the summer's credit crisis triggered a bigger-than-expected $7.9 billion write-down during the third quarter.
Merrill reported a loss after paying preferred dividends of $2.31 billion, or $2.82 a share, compared with profit of $3 billion, or $3.50 a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 94% to $577 million from $9.83 billion a year earlier.
Chief Executive Stan O'Neal said the company continues to face uncertainty regarding the impact of its mortgage-related investments.
"In light of difficult credit markets and additional analysis by management during our quarter-end closing process, we re-examined our remaining CDO positions with more conservative assumptions," he said. "The result is a larger write-down of these assets than initially anticipated."
Read more:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/earnings/2007-10-24-merrill_N.htm
Ouch. That's gonna leave a mark.