"This time it's different" are the four most expensive words in the English language, runs a saying among bankers. So it has proved at Merrill Lynch, an American investment bank which is ruing a stampede into collateralised-debt obligations (CDOS) and other subprime mortgage-linked nasties. Never mind that most of its CDOS were "super senior" and supposed to be relatively safe. On October 24th the Thundering Herd's senior bulls sheepishly announced write-downs of $7.9 billion on Merrill's mortgage holdings, $3.4 billion more than the bank had estimated only 19 days before. This tipped Merrill into loss. After a few days' testy deliberation, the board tipped its chairman and chief executive, Stan O'Neal, through the nearest window.
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