Opening Bell: 17.4.08

Merrill Lynch posts steep first-quarter loss on write-downs (AP) At first blush, Merrill's earnings don't look so good, though who knows how these things play out during the day. The company posted another wide loss -- $2.14 billion -- which was deeper than analysts estimated. Revenue also came in below expectations, which may be the real story here. Here's the actual release. While the headline gives the basic numbers, the subheadline trumpets: "Record Quarterly Net Revenues in Global Wealth Management." Well that's something. Another something: 4,000 jobs are expected to be cut, says the company in the report.