Lunchtime Links: An MBA is no longer a golden ticket to finance

The time was that the main motivation for shelling out for an MBA from a top business school was to boost your credentials for a more senior investment banking role. Not any more.

According to Financial News the most recent crop of MBA graduates are turning their back on finance, in particular private equity and investment banking, with only a very small percentage moving towards these sectors.

In Harvard, 11% moved to private equity (compared to 18% in 2008) and a measly 6% looked towards investment banking as a career path. At Insead, just 2.3% entered private equity, while 36% of LBS's MBA grads entered finance this year - the lowest level since 2003.

It's tempting to conclude, as was suggested in the Telegraph previously, that all the negative publicity around the financial sector has dented the industry's appeal. However, in the case of private equity, it may simply be down to a dearth of job new opportunities.

Credit Suisse recruits in bid to restore client trust (Financial News)

While UBS has moved into F1 sponsorship (Financial Times)

BarCap continues to build Asian equities platform (FinanceAsia)

Morgan Stanley's iPhone app (Telegraph)

Moynihan buys 30,000 BoA shares (DealBook)

Lloyd Blankfein is an amazing endurance swimmer (NY Observer)

Wall Street hiring spree is over (Wall Street Journal)

Hash is now investment bankers' drug of choice (Financial News)