At times like these, an analyst can really make a name for himself or herself. Meredith Whitney, of CIBC, has certainly seized the day. The issue du jour is how much Citigroup will write down for the fourth quarter. The bank reports next week, and according to the Financial Times, Merrill Lynch has weighed in with a prediction of $16 billion, Goldman Sachs says $19 billion, and Sanford Bernstein is looking for a $12 billion loss. Citigroup itself was hoping to limit writedown to no more than $11 billion. Regardless of the amount, a loss is a virtual lock. No matter how big, there are clearly some troubling issues at play. Goldman Sachs analyst William Tanona notes that the assets showing the biggest losses are the so-called super senior assets. This would have been shocking not too long ago.  

For more:
- here's the Financial Times item