U.S. Atty. Wants Information from SEC’s Merrill Lynch Probe

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission for information it has obtained in a civil probe of Merrill Lynch & Co., the Wall Street Journal reports.

The SEC is investigating whether the firm overstated the price of mortgage bonds it was holding, the newspaper says (sub. req.).

Meanwhile federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are investigating (sub. req.) whether UBS AG inflated the value of mortgage-backed securities, an issue raised when a trader was confronted and ousted for his low valuations.

The FBI is investigating 14 companies in connection with the subprime fallout, including Wall Street banks that packaged mortgage loans into securities for investors.