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Live chat: Rebuilding Wall Street

Thomson Reuters, Evercore Partners, and Korn/Ferry, the world’s largest executive search firm, have teamed up to deliver a live online forum that discusses where Wall Street is headed. Will it return to its former self or has the landscape changed forever? If you’re a financial services professional, join us here on Feb. 3 at 10 am. The panel is waiting for your questions. Leave them in the comments below and we’ll answer them on the day.

Our panel includes: Jane Gladstone, senior managing director, Evercore Partners; Alan Guarino, global sector leader, fintech & electronic trading, Korn/Ferry; and Dan Wilchins – editor-in-charge of Reuters’ coverage of U.S. banks and insurance companies.

Who’s got it worse — bankers, autoworkers, or techies?

It looks like a falling tide sinks all boats.

Out-of-work Wall Street workers have been on the front pages for months. Auto workers at the Big Three have been struggling for years, and with GM and Chrysler on the verge of a possible bankruptcy and/or bailout their situation is also dire.

Now the so-called knowledge workers are feeling the pinch. Sony is cutting 16,000 workers, and Silicon Valley companies that initially resisted the swooning of the economy are looking to cut costs and shed entry-level positions. As Reuters reported on Tuesday, people in their 20s are finding a college degree is no longer their golden ticket to a dream job in high tech.

Any bright spots? It depends on how you look at it. Of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the only ones with stock prices higher than a year ago are Wal-Mart and McDonald’s.

So who is going to face the most job insecurity in 2009: Bankers, autoworkers, or techies?

Post your answer in the comments section, along with any first-hand stories of trouble in your industry.

Preparing for the worst while giving thanks

Turkey and the trimmings may be some workers’ only comfort this Thanksgiving. With news earlier this week that more than 225,000 jobs may be axed in New York’s already battered financial industry over the next two years, the mood of uncertainty hanging over Wall Street seems unlikely to dissipate anytime soon. Heck, it’s almost enough to make you lose your appetite.

But gloomy projections aside, there’s no shortage of ways to prepare for the worst. Online professional networks are an increasingly popular tool for job-seekers. As Reuters reporter Tarmo Virki writes, “The economic crisis slamming firms across the globe has sparked a spike in usage of professional networks . . . as people hedge against losing work and laid-off employees seek jobs.” Such sites can provide valuable networking opportunities and alert you to new job openings. LinkedIn, the industry’s leader, netted 25 percent more new users in September than expected, and has seen its membership leap to more than 31 million from 18 million at the start of the year.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that other job-seekers are taking a less-virtual approach, going on undercover visits to find out more about potential employers before considering taking on a new position. A couple of the “sleuth tactics” suggested include looking for “evidence that management tries to retain key employees” and “clues to staffing problems, such as employees doing two jobs or fearing layoffs.” After all, what’s the point of taking a new job if there’s a chance you could end up at square one again?

Are you taking an innovative approach to your job search? Share … if you dare.

The new Wall Street doesn’t include champagne

In the 1987 cult classic movie “Wall Street“, Michael Douglas plays a ruthless stockbroker desperate to cash in on a seemingly endless supply of wealth and swanky perks lavished on hot-shot traders.

Ahhh, the 80s…

More than twenty years later, most would agree that corporate greed still exists — but the perks may be dwindling.

Executives speaking at the Reuters Global Finance Summit say their cash-strapped firms are ushering in a new approach to corporate spending.  Gone are the days when flying business class was deemed a necessity, when the soda in the fridge was free and no expenses were spared. Reining in spending is the new trend sweeping Wall Street as firms struggle to stay afloat in tough times.  To hear some experts tell it, there’s no other choice.

“To watch the financial industry change as radically as it’s changed, to see the economy changing as radically as it’s changing, you’d be offensively imprudent if you didn’t change your spending,” says banking analyst Meredith Whitney.

In Germany, finance experts are already doing their part in cutting costs with a plan that limits top executives’ payout and may even curb the salaries of those working at government-owned companies.  In the U.S., the Treasury is reportedly mulling a new requirement that puts firms on the hook to raise private capital if they want to qualify for government money.

The tricky business of bonuses

In these dismal economic times, nothing comes in handy quite like a 5-step program to reclaiming your bonus. Of course, delicacy is key.  With job cuts spreading like wild fire and the Treasury’s seemingly never-ending bailout, everyday taxpayers aren’t going to be rooting for you and your six-figure paycheque.

But as Bloomberg‘s Michael Lewis cheekily points out, all is not lost. You just need to rethink your strategy:

“If you are one of those people currently sitting inside a big Wall Street firm praying for some kind of bonus it may already have dawned on you that you need to rethink your approach. It’s no longer any use to hint darkly that they had better fork over serious sticks or you’ll bolt for Morgan Stanley. There’s no point even in thinking up clever ways to make profits for your firm: who cares how much money you bring into Goldman Sachs if the U.S. Congress doesn’t allow Goldman Sachs to pay bonuses? ”

While Lewis pokes fun at the contentious topic, bonuses have sparked some serious debate in recent weeks, even prompting some banks to consider giving their bonus structure an overhaul. But they may want to tread carefully.  Bankers could demand pro rata bonuses from their firms after they’ve been laid off, even forcing the case into litigation (though such cases usually favor the employer, law experts say.)

Granted, not everyone is scrambling to scoop up their slice of the payout pie. UBS chief Peter Wuffli reportedly turned down bonuses worth $10 million in a sign of “solidarity with the leadership” of the crisis-stricken bank.

How will your bonus be affected this year? Share your thoughts below.

Can Obama save Wall Street?

It’s funny how the stock market manages to tell a story. This week’s euphoric pre-election surge is all but a memory now, with stocks back in their all-too-familiar slump. If Wall Street could talk, it would be saying: ”You’ve got your work cut out for you, Obama.”

Indeed, the President-elect faces what is likely the most daunting list of challenges ever faced by an incoming administration — and America’s precarious job situation is chief among them. A report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas indicates that planned layoffs surged to their highest level in nearly five years during October, with cuts in the finance industry leading the way.  Meanwhile, the private job sector took a hit to the tune of 157,000 lost jobs last month, with signs pointing to further deterioration to come.

Obama also has the dubious task of restoring investors’ bruised faith in the financial system. After he lamented its “complete lack of regulatory oversight” earlier this week, all eyes are on Obama as he takes on the Greenspan era. Regulating the markets is never a popular task, but neither is justifying a $700 billion bailout bill to furious Americans whose retirement savings just went down the tube.

Obama enters the White House with the hopes of the world pinned to him, with endorsements from everyone from The Economist to Oprah Winfrey propping him up.  But just how long the honeymoon lasts is anyone’s guess.

Do you think Barack Obama is good for Wall Street? Share your thoughts below.

Is Wall Street poised for a makeover?

There’s no question Wall Street is undergoing a transformation of sorts with the recent rash of job losses and do-or-die consolidations. But once the dust has settled – what then?

It just may be the start of Wall Street’s warm and fuzzy rebirth, Forbes reports.

“The new Wall Street will be, in some ways, a friendlier place,” writes Michael Maiello. “Investors are no longer interested in secretive hedge fund managers and inscrutable quant trading strategies, and so personal relationships and personal responsibility on the part of financial advisers will be paramount virtues.”

But this supposed new Wall Street — where banks both big and small can flourish, where the personal touch is paramount — has a lot of skeptics to win over. Just today, Fidelity Investments said it was reviewing its staffing amid speculation of 4,000 layoffs. Meanwhile, reports that battered banks have set aside an estimated $20 billion for bonuses is surely confounding news for the thousands of newly-axed bankers left in their wake. What’s more, a new survey shows that most financial professionals aren’t just hoping for a bonus, they’re expecting it.

Is Wall Street capable of making a positive change, or is it headed for more of the same? Share your thoughts with us below.

Big isn’t always better for brokers

Beaten-down brokers are weighing the benefits of staying at Wall Street mammoths Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch in a time when even the big guys aren’t so safe anymore. Turns out, well-established firms are still attractive to many brokers even as some decide to break ties altogether to set up their own shop.

“Merrill advisors are looking at the prospect of working for Ken Lewis and Bank of America and fear they will find themselves in a cost-cutting mentality,” says Howard Diamond, CEO of Diamond Consultants, a New Jersey-based financial services recruiter.

But avoiding a job loss might be harder than simply switching firms. The U.N.’s International Labour Organization said on Monday that an estimated 20 million jobs will disappear by the end of next year as the financial crisis swirls.  Think you’re next? Consult the Wall Street Journal’s handy “Five signs you may be on the layoff list” for more clues.

Opinion: Demand for displaced bankers will still exist

John A. Challenger is chief executive officer of global outplacement and business coaching consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. The opinions expressed here are his own.

The turmoil that is shaking Wall Street to its core could eventually go down as the worst financial crisis in American history. We are already hearing comparisons of the current situation to the bank failures and stock market crash that ignited the Great Depression in the 1930s.

While we will have to wait to see the full historical impact of the credit market collapse on the economy, one thing is already certain: the crisis has reaped a heavy toll on financial sector jobs, leaving tens of thousands unemployed and with little hope of re-employment in the same line of work.

Since August 2007, when the collapse began in earnest, financial institutions have announced nearly 200,000 job cuts. This year, job cuts in the sector have reached 103,000 through August. When the dust settles from the most recent flurry of bank closings, seizures and rescues, we could see another surge in layoffs, which would probably push 2008 job cuts beyond last year’s record total of 153,105.

Unfortunately, the job cuts are not isolated to those who created this situation. They impact everyone, from the fund managers and traders to human resources professionals and administrative assistants.

The big question on the minds of the newly jobless: what now?

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Wall Street quakes shake New York social scene

NEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) – New Yorkers who frequent Gotham’s most lavish parties fear the good times are over. The economic downturn of the past year left many of the city’s richest unscathed. But the swift demise of some of Wall Street’s most historic firms has erased immense wealth and challenged a sense of security for even the moneyed classes.

“It’s the end of an era,” said party-goer Melissa Berkelhammer at an event at New York’s Plaza Hotel this week. “Everything was going so sky high that everyone had to keep redefining what luxury was.”

The reality check may even affect the way the city’s top socialites appear in public, regardless of whether their own billions are safe.

“Being an unemployed heiress and going to a party and wearing a pretty dress is not the image people want to see right now,” said Remy Stern, founder of Cityfile.com, which profiles people it believes are the city’s most influential.

David Patrick Columbia, editor of the New York Social Diary website, which chronicles the city’s wealthiest and their satellites, said: “We’ve entered a hurricane, maybe combined with a monsoon and cyclone.”

“We save nothing, so we’re not at all prepared,” he said.

The turmoil on Wall Street has become the topic du jour among New York City’s movers and shakers, Stern said.