Merrill Lynch reported a 9.3% decline in...

Merrill Lynch reported a 9.3% decline in second-quarter income to $83.3 million. The New York company said the lower earnings were the expected result of a $275-million net pretax loss from mortgage securities trading, largely because of unauthorized activity by one trader. The trader, who later was fired, accumulated large amounts of a particularly volatile mortgage-backed security that plunged in value when interest rates soared in April.