FLASH: Merrill Lynch, on the verge of failure, admits to ANOTHER $15 billion in subprime poo

Its fun to see all the investment bank idiots admitting to their subprime losses - like Chinese water torture, a drop at a time.

Just wait until they start admitting to their Alt-A liar's loan exposure, their option-ARM exposure and god forbid their prime 30-year fixed exposure.

And it's also fun to see these strong and powerful American companies running around Asia and the Arab world begging for dollars.

Actually, that's not fun. That part is really kinda sick.

Giant Write-Down Is Seen for Merrill

Merrill Lynch is expected to suffer $15 billion in losses stemming from soured mortgage investments, almost double its original estimate, prompting the firm to raise additional capital from an outside investor.

Merrill, the nation’s largest brokerage firm, is expected to disclose the huge write-down when it reports earnings next week, according to people who have been briefed on its plans. The loss far exceeds the $12 billion hit many Wall Street analysts had forecast.

To shore up its deteriorating finances, Merrill is now in discussions with investors in the United States, Asia and the Middle East, including American private equity firms, to raise about $4 billion in the coming days, these people said.

Merrill is hardly alone in seeking capital from overseas. United States financial institutions have raised more than $29 billion from foreign governments and their related investment entities, according to the market research firm Dealogic.