Lunchtime Links: A respected pay consultant suspects bonuses will rise

Alan Johnson, a Wall Street pay consultant, is being contrary. Despite various indications to the opposite, Johnson thinks bonuses will

rise this year.

For anyone unable to see Johnson's table below, he isn't predicting a uniform increase: only people in private banking, prime brokerage, hedge funds, private equity, asset management, senior executives, and middle and back office staff are expected to get more. Fixed income people are predicted to suffer bonus shrinkage of 5 to 15%.

Johnson attributes the comparatively good news to relatively high growth in the financial services industry, and year on year growth in AUM (in asset management). He also predicts that a higher proportion of bonuses will be deferred. (Click on the image to expand)

Hiring freeze now on, according to one single London headhunter spoken to by Bloomberg. (DealBook)

Credit Suisse said it continued to hire in areas such as fixed income flow sales, private banking relationship management and information technology. (Telegraph)

Credit Suisse confirmed the cuts were not just in back office administrative functions but also in front office activities. (Financial Times)

"There are now serious rumours of a second round of redundancies at BarCap in Q4 of this year, if the business environment does not materially improve." (Financial Times)

Barclays refuses to sign up to government lending targets. (Financial Times)

UBS has appointed a new head of its onshore wealth management business in Europe. (Bloomberg)

Hong Kong brokers may lose their two hour lunch break. (Bloomberg)

Regulators should ruminate on rehypothecation (Financial Times)

Germany vs the US - two different approaches to the recession. (Becker Posner)