Marsh & McLennan, the world's largest insurance broker, has sustained a $676m (€511m) fourth-quarter net loss following a $850m settlement with New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer over bid-rigging charges.

The firm, which is the parent of Putnam Investments and Mercer, said a further 2,500 jobs could go across the group on top of the 3,000 cuts from the 60,000 world-wide workforce announced last November.