Lunchtime Links: Could you be happy on 50k?

Given that even first year analysts in M&A are earning 67k upwards, 50k looks pitiful in investment banking terms.

However, a new and (simplistic) study suggests 50k is all that's required for a life of blissfulness: below that and you're left wanting; above that, all the extra hours and hassle don't contribute much in the way of happiness anyway.

The study originates from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, but has been picked up by the Daily Mail, which cites this quote:

'Perhaps $75,000 is a threshold beyond which further increases in income no longer improve a person's ability to do what matters most to their emotional well-being - such as spending time with the people they like, avoiding pain and disease and enjoying leisure.'

What it does not say is whether the 50k threshold applies at all ages, and in all areas. Previous investigations have suggested that living in Central London with small children costs considerably more than that.

Barclays defends Diamond's 11.5m package. (Evening Standard)

Has the casino swallowed Barclays? (Pestowire)

Bob is one of nine children. (BBC)

Barclays is set receive 1.1m for every 100 jobs it creates in Scotland over the next few years. (Telegraph)

SocGen's head of UK M&A has left, right in the middle of its M&A push. (Financial News)

Standard Chartered hires lots of FICC people in the Middle East. (Zawya)

European banks set about refinancing €225bn of debt over the next four months. (Financial News)

It is time that Macquarie started preparing for the possibility that the more subdued activity of the second quarter will become a permanent fixture. (Financial Times)

The scary scientific ambition of Chinese youth vs the lethargy of the West. (Telegraph)

There is an increasing amount of evidence that the rich are a vicious tribe of people. (Bloomberg)