Top Firm Said Laying Off 2,000 More
According to the newspaper, which quotes unnamed 'people close to the situation', the layoffs will be across the board, mostly in New York and London, and many front office employees are likely to be affected. The new layoffs will bring the total planned at the investment banking unit this year to date to 6,000, or around 10% of the worldwide total. Some bankers have already been tapped on the shoulder, whilst others will be downsized in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, according to a new survey by research agency Experian, the investment banking industry is likely to see global job cuts of around 15% this year, as firms align headcount with revenue projections. According to The Financial Times, about 65,000 jobs have gone since the latest market turmoil started in August.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Morgan Stanley's first-quarter profits came in 43% down at $1.55bn, after $2.3bn of asset writedowns. The results were, however, better than expected. Firm CFO Colm Kelleher said that 'these have been unprecedented markets in terms of the falloff in liquidity and funding. In light of that, I think that these are pretty good results'.
The Financial Times reports that the ultimate separation of Dresdner Kleinwort from the rest of Dresdner Bank could result in the unit raising capital from outsider investors, perhaps from financial institutions in China and the Middle East. The 'divorce' from the rest of Dresdner is, however, thought to be over a year away.
Finally, Bloomberg reports that, according to two unnamed 'people with knowledge of the matter', JWM Partners, an investment firm run by former LTCM Capital Management founder John Meriwether, had lost 24% in its $1bn Relative Value Opportunity hedge fund in the year through March 14th. The news agency also reports that London-based hedge fund Endeavour Capital has fallen 28% this month because of 'extreme volatility and vast moves' in Japanese bonds.