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| Merrill Lynch posts $7.8bn loss | Merrill Lynch posts $7.8bn loss |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Wall Street banking giant Merrill Lynch has reported a net loss for 2007 after getting caught up in problems stemming from a slump in the US housing market. | Wall Street banking giant Merrill Lynch has reported a net loss for 2007 after getting caught up in problems stemming from a slump in the US housing market. |
| The company said it had a net loss of $7.8bn (£3.9bn) in the 12 months to the end of December. | The company said it had a net loss of $7.8bn (£3.9bn) in the 12 months to the end of December. |
| It is the latest US and European bank to reveal losses related to investments linked to the US mortgage market. | It is the latest US and European bank to reveal losses related to investments linked to the US mortgage market. |
| The company's chairman and chief executive John Thain called the performance "clearly unacceptable". | The company's chairman and chief executive John Thain called the performance "clearly unacceptable". |
| Included in those results is a massive $11.5bn write-down on mortgages and bonds backed by sub-prime mortgages. | |
| It is the company's second quarterly loss in a row. The previous chief executive, Stan O'Neal, stepped down in October because of the bank's poor performance. | |
| The new boss, John Thain said: "While the firm's performance for the year is clearly unacceptable, over the last few weeks we have substantially strengthened the firm's liquidity and balance sheet." |