Analyst makes bold call on Merrill Lynch losses

It's no secret that Merrill Lynch will take some big losses for the third quarter. The issue is how much. Analysts at the top banks, the likes of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, believe that the losses, related mainly to credit-oriented trading, will be in the $1.5 billion range. Along comes CIBC World Markets analyst Meredith Whitney with a stunner. She predicts the firm will report $3 billion in charges. The AP notes she slashed her profit estimate to 97 cents per share from $2 per share. By comparison, the average analyst estimate right now is $1.34 per share. Investment bank results are notoriously hard to predict. Merrill's retail brokerage operations mitigates the problem significantly. Still, this is a boldly bearish move. I love it. Frankly, this is how you become great. We'll see. Most expect Merrill's earnings next week sometime.  

For more:
- here's the AP article 

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