[Ache]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... QD96IKQNG0

Merrill Lynch & Co. disclosed late Tuesday its 2008 losses were about $533 million more than previously reported, according to a regulatory filing.

Merrill revised its full-year loss to $27.61 billion from the $27.08 billion it reported last month, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The New York-based investment bank has been among the hardest hit by the ongoing credit crisis. On Jan. 1, New York-based Merrill completed its sale to Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp.

The updated filing shows Merrill reported a negative revenue net of interest expense of $12.59 billion for the year, compared with a previous estimate of negative $11.72 billion. The change is related mostly to principal transactions, causing Merrill to record a revised negative revenue of $27.23 billion, compared with a previous estimate of negative $26.18 billion.

In the filing, independent accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP noted Merrill erroneously recorded transactions tied to hedging. Deloitte and Touche said errors in recording hedging transactions demonstrated Merrill did not maintain effective control over its financial reporting for 2008.

Because of Merrill's ongoing struggles, Bank of America received an additional $20 billion from the government in January that it said it needed to help offset the losses it was absorbing from the Merrill acquisition. The government also promised to cover the bulk of losses on more than $100 billion in risky assets. The additional support was provided to Bank of America as its chief executive, Ken Lewis, showed trepidation about completing the deal to acquire Merrill.

[gandolf]

Half a billion dollars is an easy mistake to make, They probably forgot to add in the executive managers toilet paper expenses.
I know that has happened at our company once.