Merrill-Lynch set for more write-downs from CDO binge!

SAN FRANCISCO, California - April 16, 2008 - Merrill Lynch & Co. will likely write down the value of complex mortgage securities and other troubled assets by at least $4.5 billion when the brokerage firm reports quarterly results on Thursday, according to analysts.

Most of that valuation hit will come from collateralized-debt obligations, or CDOs, which are structured products that were partly exposed to risky mortgage securities.

Merrill was a leading underwriter of such products, even as the mortgage crisis began in early 2007. That left the firm with billions of dollars worth of exposure to CDOs on its balance sheet.