Eis a previsão dos "analistas" (ver imagem) e os factos:

"Mortgage-related losses much higher than the $5 billion writedown originally estimated.
By Grace Wong, CNNMoney.com staff writer
October 24 2007: 7:57 AM EDT


LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. took a $7.9 billion writedown in the third quarter due to bad mortgage bets, well exceeding its initial estimates and raising questions about the bank's risk management.

The Wall Street firm said Wednesday it took losses on home loans given to borrowers with poor credit and collateralized debt obligations - pools of bonds sold off in slices of varying credit risk.

The hit is well above the $5 billion writedown Merrill (Charts, Fortune 500) estimated it would take just a little more than two weeks ago. The blow is likely to renew credit fears as well as raise pressure on Merrill chief executive Stanley O'Neal.

As a result of the mortgage-related losses, the bank posted a net loss of $2.3 billion, or $2.82 a share, for the quarter ended in September. "