Too bad, because I really liked their tv adverts, despite the fact they they ruined my portfolio.
"Merrill to post $5.7b in write-downs in quarter
Merrill Lynch & Co. said it will record $5.7 billion of pretax write-downs in the third quarter because of additional losses on the sale of collateralized debt obligations and hedging contracts with bond insurers, including XL Capital Assurance. The New York firm said it plans to raise $8.5 billion by selling shares in a public offering. Merrill's chief, John Thain, is pushing to rid the firm of its obligations, which have contributed the majority of $18.7 billion of net losses reported over the past four quarters (Bloomberg)."
