NEW YORK (Bloomberg) ? Marsh & McLennan Cos., the world?s largest insurance broker, probably will report a fourth-quarter loss after settling a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for $850 million to end bid-rigging accusations.

The New York-based company today may post a net loss of 60 cents a share, compared with earnings of 69 cents a year earlier, according to the average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Marsh also may lower its dividend and cut jobs, said Prudential Equity Group analyst Jay Gelb.

Brokerage revenue probably fell seven percent, trailing competitors Aon Corp. and Willis Group Holdings Ltd., because of reduced fee revenue and declining insurance prices that are crimping commissions, Gelb said. He excluded the effect of acquisitions from his estimate. Chief Executive Officer Michael Cherkasky, 54, gave up $845 million in annual fees that Spitzer called kickbacks from insurers.

?Marsh no longer has the earnings power of a year ago,? said Stanley Nabi, vice chairman of Silvercrest Asset Management in New York, which oversees more than $5 billion and held about 88,000 Marsh shares as recently as December. ?There are better values in the insurance business.?

Marsh will record fourth-quarter pretax costs of $618 million from the settlement with Spitzer, the company said in a January 31 statement. The expense is equal to about 67 cents a share, assuming Marsh can claim it as a tax deduction.

Shares of the insurance broker have fallen 29 percent since Spitzer sued Marsh on October 14, compared with the 3.5 percent gain of the Standard & Poor?s 500 Insurance Index. The shares rose $1.02, or 3.2 percent, to $32.65 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading today.

Nine analysts are telling clients to ?sell? shares of Marsh, five have a ?hold? rating, and three recommend it as a ?buy?, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Marsh spokeswoman Barbara Perlmutter declined to comment on any subject related to tomorrow?s announcements, including potential job cuts, changes to fees or the dividend.

The company, accused of colluding to fabricate bids and steer business to insurers that paid it the highest fees, plans to announce a new ?execution model? tomorrow after forgoing payments from insurers, Cherkasky said when he announced the settlement. The former New York prosecutor replaced Jeffrey Greenberg, who was removed after Spitzer?s suit.