Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, has reported a 1Q loss of $10.97 billion and has announced that it will slash its workforce by almost 7%. This form the AP news wire:

The 11.5 billion Swiss franc loss compares with a net profit of 3 billion francs in the same period last year. The company also said it would unload $15 billion in subprime and other mortgage-based securities from its portfolio.

UBS shares dropped 4.9% on the news.

Mike Burnick in the Offshore A-Letter doubts that the ultimate bottom of this bear market has yet been reached.

“However,” says Mike, “with such broad-based strength in equity markets around the world, we may be in for a decent rally that has some legs.”

“If the buck can stage a more convincing reversal of fortune at this point, I would expect commodities to correct further, while global stocks (particularly emerging markets) should continue to get a boost.”