Some Wall Street firms returned to business as usual today after escaping Hurricane Irene mostly unharmed, while others expected to remain closed, Bloomberg reports. Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are among the firms in the evacuation zone that will be open for business, while nearby American Express will remain shuttered and is asking employees to work from home, Bloomberg says. The New York Stock Exchange and other financial markets... Read more

Do not underestimate the importance of your resume. It’s usually the first thing a recruiter will see about you and while a recruiter can sometimes ‘sell’ you to an employer based upon what they know about you as a person, they may be less inclined to do so if they know your resume is strewn with errors. These are the most common mistakes we come across. 1) Typos, spelling mistakes... Read more

Most young Wall Street bankers are unhappy with their pay and many would like to work in private equity instead, Bloomberg reports, citing a survey by headhunting firm Capstone Partnership. While bankers actually enjoy their work, they feel they’re not being paid well enough considering the personal sacrifices they make. Out of 2,000 associates and vice presidents in their first three years who were surveyed, 67 percent said they were... Read more

UBS is the latest major bank to announce massive lay-offs to cut costs and trim down for difficult years ahead, Reuters reports. Switzerland’s largest bank says 3,500 employees will be laid off, or 5.3% of total staff. Almost half of the cuts will occur in the investment banking unit; the reductions will pare expenses by $2.5 billion each year. “Like rival Credit Suisse Group AG, UBS has been grappling with... Read more

Morale on Wall Street is dropping as the current layoff cycle sweeps across the nation's financial center Reuters reports. As thousands of bankers lose their jobs, the survivors have to pick up the slack, which not only erodes morale but also hurts customer service. “Hours have become longer, trading floors have more open seats and fresh young faces are taking over offices where high-level personnel once sat,” Reuters writes. To... Read more

What follows is derived from an interview with a real-life equity researcher in an investment bank… “I usually get in around 7:30 AM and I check for important news and research notes relating to companies I cover right away. I might spend 15 – 30 minutes catching up on emails from traders and salespeople, reading the news, and understanding the market as a whole. Stock movements can be affected by anything from... Read more

Bank of America will lay off 3,500 employees before October, and could fire thousands more later on as it completes a wider restructuring, The Wall Street Journal reports. The move comes as Bank of America deals with the consequences of $1 trillion of problem-loans on its books and increasing economic woes, Reuters adds. “The 3,500 positions are spread across the nation's largest bank by assets, including investment banking and trading, and the... Read more

Editor's note: This guest comment originally appeared on our Asian sites but is applicable here as well It used to be that, during an interview process, if you did well with the grey-hairs you were (in Tony Soprano parlance) a ‘made man.’ It didn't matter if the sneering junior with a chip on his or her shoulder liked you. The senior guys had the last word. If you managed to go... Read more

More Chartered Financial Analyst candidates passed the Level 3 exam this year compared to last, according to the CFA Institute, Bloomberg News reports. The Institute says 51% of applicants passed the exam, compared to 46% last year. Previously, the Institute said 39% passed Level 1 and 43% passed Level 2. A record 144,900 candidates registered to take the three CFA exams in June, aiming to gain a hiring edge after the... Read more

Bonuses for fixed-income and equities bankers will fall between 20 and 30 percent this year, eFinancialCareers reports, citing a study by pay consulting firm Johnson Associates. The estimate reverses Johnson’s study from May which predicted that bonuses would rise 10-15 percent. Higher ranking executives, meanwhile, would likely see their bonuses remain flat or fall up to 30 percent. “The new estimates are driven by a ‘lack of economic recovery’ as... Read more

Finding a great job in the financial markets can be challenging in the best of times, but when Wall Street firms announce the kind of headcount reductions we’ve been seeing lately the search becomes down right daunting. And according to a survey eFinancialCareers conducted this month with financial professionals, recruiters may not really help job seekers all that much either. The survey found that while nearly four out of five (78%)... Read more

As we mentioned earlier this week, most companies aren't planning to change their short-term investment strategy following S&P's downgrade of the U.S. debt. But a new survey released today by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) found that one in four financial professionals now say the downgrade could impact hiring. The survey, which was conducted this week, also found that 40% expect the cost of capital will be impacted detrimentally by... Read more

As they look to woo hedge fund clients, some of the biggest players are actively expanding prime broker biz and adding to personnel. In a Q2 2011 Earnings Call, JPMorgan Chase’s CFO Douglas L. Braunstein announced the launch of prime brokerage services in Asia for early 2012. In June, JPMorgan Chase rolledout its prime brokerage services for European hedge funds. But other players gave off mixed signals. While Nomura is... Read more

Does your resume say, “I can handle a financial crisis?” If not, you may want to get cracking, and insert that skill and fast. It’s time—right now—to update your resume, and detail all the things you have done to weather previous downturns. That's the humble opinion of San Francisco-based career coach and jobs transition specialist Don Asher, author of several books including, Who Gets Promoted, Who Doesn’t, and Why. Asher believes a... Read more

The recent market slump and downgrade of the United State’s credit rating has investors who bet on mergers and acquisitions scrambling, as agreed-upon prices are no longer valid, according to Reuters. The news service quoted one merger arbritrageur saying that the spreads of “anything with risk and financing is widening out more. The guys doing LBOs -- if any merger agreement has any hint of a crack in it with... Read more

Despite all the gloomy headlines about layoffs in the financial markets, there is some positive news for those of you who chose to follow a financial career path. A new survey released today shows that as a group, financial professionals received higher pay raises than their white collar counterparts in other industries. According to the survey conducted by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), financial executives saw their pay increases hitting... Read more

It was the thud heard round the street, and this weekend’s S&P downgrade of the U.S. long-term sovereign credit rating left many wondering what the impact would be on the economy. The experts are divided on the immediate effect on interest rates. Certainly, worries about Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHLB are very real, given their downgrade too. While the drop from the top triple-A status to AA+ was a... Read more

HSBC Holdings is expected to lay off more than 10,000 workers as it aims to cut costs by up to $3.5 billion a year, Reuters says, citing a report by Sky News. HSBC would not confirm the report, but notes that HSBC CEO Stuart Gulliver announced in May an expansive plan to reduce expenses by pulling out of dozens of countries and concentrating on core competencies. The bank currently employs... Read more

The rallying cry during the next presidential election could well be, "It's the jobs, stupid!" As earnings season chugs along Corporate America is boasting record profits, primarily due to robust growth outside the U.S. such as Asia and China in particular. Granted, the financial sector hasn't been faring so well of late, but according to Reuters, 78 percent of companies in the S&P 500 index have reported second quarter earnings that... Read more

Life has become very tough for Wall Street interns. Once showered with perks and time off, interns are now forced to work excessive hours and forego extravagant parties, DealBook reports. Blame weaker bank earnings and recent layoffs. Although interns have always been expected to work hard for the privilege of putting Wall Street on their resumes, the hours are now more gruelling than ever. DealBook quotes one intern who worked... Read more