Friday's Headlines: MBAs Still Eye Wall Street Despite the Shakey Market

New MBAs are still vying for Wall Street jobs, even as positions are tenuous. href=https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203752604576643492700615456.html?mod=WSJ_business_whatsNews target=_blank>The Wall Street Journal reports that graduates from top business schools are still hoping for the big bucks that financial services have typically offered.

Even in an age of heavy layoffs, shrinking bonus pools and noisy antibank protests, it is no mystery why MBA students keep entering the revolving door that is Wall Street. It pays well and carries considerable prestige.

But those getting jobs in finance will be entering an industry undergoing a massive belt-tightening, as investors flee banks hammered by a weak economy, tumultuous markets and tightening regulation. The crunch could dim hiring prospects for the next wave of MBA graduates-and crimp promotion opportunities down the road. "You're vulnerable if you're in that five-, seven- or nine-year range," said Alan Johnson, managing director of compensation-consulting firm Johnson Associates Inc. "You're expensive, and you don't have clients."

The article goes on to quote career services directors from top schools who see banks tightening their belts when it comes to hiring new grads. Meanwhile, more Harvard MBA students and recent grads are gravitating toward start-ups and boutique firms.

Other News:

CapitalOne's Q3 profit grew 1.3 percent on fewer defaults. [Bloomberg]

RBS scrapped plans to open an investment bank in Brazil and will cut 30 jobs in the country. [Bloomberg]

The hedge fund founded by Richard C. Perry has cut about 30 portfolio managers and analysts and three partners. [DealBook]

KKR is planning a $2 billion expansion in Hong Kong over the next six to nine months. [Reuters]

LPL Investments lost brokers who generate $17 million in annual fees and commissions related to the absorption of its broker-dealer, Uvest. [Investment News]

Blackstone lost $341.9 million in the Q3 on markdowns of its holdings. [NY Times]

"Dark pool" operator Liquidnet was sued by Wedbush Securities for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to its new private-market platform. [WSJ]

Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada's third-largest bank, will buy 51 percent of Colombia's Banco Colpatria Red Multibanca Colpatria for $1 billion. [Bloomberg]

Fortress Investments plans to launch a second hedge fund in Asia next year. [Reuters]

PIMCO launched a $689.5 million distressed credit hedge fund. [Hedge Fund Net]

Luxembourg loves hedge funds. [Hedge Fund Net]

Hackers who infiltrated the Nasdaq's computer systems installed spyware that snooped on the boards of several public companies. [Reuters]