Merrill Lynch posts loss of nearly $2 billion

April 17, 2008
Merrill Lynch posts loss of nearly $2 billion

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Ongoing write-downs for soured mortgage investments and other bad credit bets continued to plague Wall Street icon Merrill Lynch, leading to an almost $2 billion first-quarter loss and a planned 4,000 job cuts, the company reported Thursday.

But new Chief Executive John Thain said core businesses continued to operate well. "Despite this quarter's loss, Merrill Lynch's underlying businesses produced solid results in a difficult market environment," he said. "The firm's $82 billion excess liquidity pool has increased from year-end levels, and we remain well-capitalized."

Thain's comments are likely to calm some market jitters sparked by stubborn talk the firm may need to raise new capital. In recent weeks, Thain has repeatedly reassured investors that the firm will not need new capital.

Corporate Debt Suggests Defaults Are Likely

January 24, 2008
Corporate Debt Suggests Defaults Are Likely

The volume of U.S. corporate debt issued by companies in severe financial distress rose in January to the highest level in more than four years, suggesting corporate defaults are likely to surge in coming months, Standard & Poor's said Thursday.

The credit-rating agency said the ratio of "distressed" corporate debt to all speculative-grade debt jumped to 11.1 percent in January from 6.1 percent in December. The percentage this month is the highest since September 2003.