Thursday's headlines: Yale senior blasts Wall Street's recruiting strategy

One Yale senior gives the low-down of hedge funds' recruiting tactics at top-tier schools in an op-ed for The New York Times entitled "The Science and Strategy of College Recruiting."

Marina Keegan recounts how hedge fund recruiters corralled her and her peers into a hotel room, paid them $100 each, and offered a song-and-dance about why they should consider working for their firm. She interviewed 20 of her classmates in an effort to understand why so few entered college hoping to go into financial services, but the chances are that 25 percent of them will. She writes:

"Representatives from the consulting and finance come to schools early and often-providing us with application timelines and inviting us to information sessions in individualized e-mails. We're made to feel special and desired and important... They understand that it's no longer 'cool' to explicitly seek wealth. But we will work for banks and hedge funds because they're marketed to us (quite strategically) as something to merely do for a few years-as a perfect way to gain skills for a future career in somehow saving the world... Why do students believe this? Because the recruiters tell them it's true. Personally, I think it's ridiculous."

Other News:

U.S. bank default swaps increase on Italian contagion concern. [Bloomberg]

HSBC's U-bank profit drops and U.S. bad loans increase. [Businessweek]

Nomura faces a possible Moody downgrade. [Businessweek]

Goldman faces $15.8 billion in mortgage lawsuits-30 times the previous estimate. [Reuters]

The owner of the brokerage Morgan Keegan is back in deal talks with Stifel Financial. [Bloomberg]

Goldman and Morgan Stanley are considering an accounting change which would make them look more like traditional banks. [WSJ]

Goldman again sold off some of its stake in Industrial & Commerce Bank of China. [WSJ]

Goldman revealed $2.3 billion exposure to Italy. [Bloomberg]

Ally Financial's money-losing mortgage unit hired Centerview Partners to advise on restructuring. [Bloomberg]

Sweden's tough love for banks paid off. [Businessweek]

The number of ultra-wealth Americans will outnumber those in Asia until 2032. [Businessweek]