The Only Pandemic We're Concerned About Is The 'Job Loss' Pandemic

UBS posted its first-quarter results Tuesday. The firm came in with a $1.75bn loss in the period. The bank remains cautious on its immediate outlook, saying that it may need to raise credit provisioning in coming quarters.

As Bloomberg points out, UBS recently dropped off the list of Millward Brown Optimor's 100 most valuable brands in 2009. The bank had been falling down the list, coming in 51st in 2007 and 64th last year.

And as UBS issued flu kits to employees due to the Influenza A/H1n1 (swine flu) virus, one employee told Here Is The City: 'The attempt to distract us with the Swine Flu has failed. The only pandemic we're concerned about here is the 'job loss' pandemic. 8,700 of us are for the axe in the current round!'.

In the meantime, Reuters reports that 10 of the 19 banks the US Federal Reserve has subjected to its 'stress-test' are thought likely to be told that they need to raise additional capital.

The news agency also reports that JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has said that there 'are still too many banks in the United States', and he thinks that his bank may be called on by regulators to make further acquisitions.

And The Wall Street Journal reports that although AIG is thought likely to post a loss in the first-quarter (it posts earnings Thursday), it is not expected that the numbers will trigger any further US government financial support.

Finally, The Daily Telegraph reports that hedge funds Odey Asset Management and Landsdowne Partners are thought to have made a cool $282m by investing in shares of Barclays Bank, which have risen from 51p in January to 279p.