Shares in Merrill Lynch plunged today following reports that the bank sought to put off the disclosure of losses and may need to write down a further $10bn (€6.9bn).

Merrill shares fell as much as 7.5% to $57.54, after Deutsche Bank analysts cut their ratings from "buy" to "hold". "New collateralised debt obligation writedowns could approach $10bn given a worse CDO market," the analysts wrote in a note seen by Bloomberg.