The News: Wall Street Job Outlook Brightens

If you're in the financial job market and employers aren't biting, it's getting harder to use the recession as an excuse. "Experts who track employment trends on Wall Street suggest that banks and securities firms are indeed feeling comfortable enough these days to at least start contemplating the idea of adding workers," reports CNNMoney.

Employers cited as turning the corner toward adding heads include Bank of America (in its retail brokerage unit), Morgan Stanley (expected to add "several hundred" traders over the next few years, according to a recent Financial Times story), and other large institutions - along with mid-size broker-dealers and big European banks that did most of the hiring last year.

"In general, (firms) are looking for someone with an active book of business and people who have active client relationships," financial services headhunter Kathy Tompkins of Sheffield Haworth told CNNMoney.

Wall Street Dusts Off 'Help Wanted' Sign [CNNMoney]

Finra Committee to Review Claim Managers Are Overpaid [Bloomberg News]

Deutsche Bank Said to Defer Banker Bonuses Amid Pay Controversy [Bloomberg News]

Head of Goldman's Asset Management Leaves [NYTimes]

Simon Johnson: Goldman Is About To Be Blacklisted And Possibly Banned In Europe [ClusterStock]

Money-quote reader comment, from one of the sea of anons who calls himself 'getta life': "They are terrorists plain and simple."

Ford Vows To Defend Wall Street If He Runs [Politico]