Merrill Lynch is due to report second-quarter earnings next month. Ahead of the news, most analysts have been busy paring their estimates. CNBC notes that a month ago, analysts were expecting, on average, 44 cents a share. Now that's down to 16 cents a share. There are a host of worries behind the cuts. They really cropped up at the end of last week, when rumors were rife that the firm would make a pre-announcement on earnings. The rumor was that it would write down securities tied to Alt-A loans. Merrill announced that it is not preparing an earnings announcement. Still, the uncertainty in this climate can lead to some big stock swings.  

For more:
- here's a CNBC article

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