UBS AG (UBS) fourth quarter earnings preview

Last period the company reported that it had earnings of $0.08 per share, which was a penny under analyst estimates.

In January, the company announced that it would be reducing bonuses for its investment bank by more than 80%. This led to widespread speculation that the company may look to eliminate this branch of its business. According to Bloomberg, this is not going to be the case. The company stated today that its investment banking division will remain in place, and that Jerker Johansson would remain in its CEO seat.

Shares of the stock are down roughly 0.9% on the day, down to $11.16, down $0.09.

UBS is considered to be the hardest hit European bank during the current global financial crisis, and its full year numbers are probably not going to be too pretty. It is expected that the bank will show a loss on the year of around $15.4 billion.

We will also be expecting to hear about another round of layoffs being announced in the morning. Since the third quarter of 2007 the company has already announced plans to reduce its workforce by 6,000 jobs, and has indicated that more cuts are going to come tomorrow.

In the morning we will see just how the company did last quarter, and will update you with any notable announcements that may stem from the company's conference call.