Merrill Lynch is expected to suffer $15 billion in losses stemming from soured mortgage investments, the New York Timesreported today.
The losses, almost twice the company's original estimate, were prompting the company to raise additional capital from an outside investor, the newspaper said.
Merrill is expected to disclose the huge write-down when it reports earnings next week, the New York Timesreported. The loss exceeds the $12 billion hit that many Wall Street analysts had forecast, it added.
Merrill is in talks with investors in the United States, Asia and the Middle East to raise around $4 billion in coming days, the paper said.
The report triggered a fall in the dollar to the day's lows around 109.15 yen, pressured regional share prices and gave a boost to US Treasuries, traders in Tokyo said.