There is another casualty today in the U.S. mortgage meltdown. UBS is recording its first operating loss in more than 9 years. They have decided to write off a further $10 billion on losses in the U.S. subprime lending market and will raise capital by selling substantial stakes to Singapore and an unnamed investor in the Middle East.

UBS said that the government of Singapore Investment Corp., or GIC, is investing 11 billion francs ($9.75 billion), while an undisclosed strategic investor in the Middle East is contributing the other 2 billion francs ($1.77 billion).

"Conditions in the U.S mortgage and housing markets have continued to deteriorate, and we have updated our loss assumptions to the levels implied by the current distressed market for mortgage securities," the company's chief executive, Marcel Rohner, said in a statement.

"Our losses in the U.S. mortgage securities market are substantial, but could have been absorbed by our earnings and capital base," UBS Chairman Marcel Ospel said in a statement.

Unfortunately, we may be in for more of these, especially with the end of the year upon us.