Merrill Takes a Mammoth Hit - News & Analysis - Brokerages/Wall Street - BSC - C

Merrill Takes a Mammoth Hit - News & Analysis - Brokerages/Wall Street - BSC - C: "Merrill Takes a Mammoth Hit By Mark DeCambre TheStreet.com Senior Writer 10/5/2007 9:24 AM EDT Click here for more stories by Mark DeCambre Merrill Lynch (MER - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) said third-quarter profits will be wiped out by a huge writedown tied to this summer's credit crunch. The Most Read Stories From TheStreet.com 1. High Bar Hits RIM 2. Verizon Turns iPhone Killer Loose 3. Top 10 Stocks With Big Insider Buying, Buybacks 4. Top Dividend Stocks From Buffett, Soros and Icahn 5. Macau Stocks Get Mashed Sign Up Free Trading Center Zecco.com TD AMERITRADE Global Forex E*TRADE FINANCIAL Fidelity Investments Charles Schwab The New York-based brokerage firm said it expects to lose 50 cents a share for the quarter, reversing the year-ago $2-a-share profit and falling well short of analysts' $1.24-a-share profit forecast. Merrill will take $4.5 billion in writedowns on its holdings of collateralized debt obligations and subprime mortgages. It will also write off $967 million worth of leveraged lending commitments. The charges mean that Merrill has taken the biggest hit on Wall Street from this summer's turmoil in the credit markets. Last month's writedowns at rivals Goldman Sachs (GS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating), Lehm"