Tuesday’s Headlines: Occupy Wall Streeter hired as junior analyst

Media stunt or savvy head-hunting?

Wall Street brokerage John Thomas Financial found its latest hire in an unemployed biomedical Ph.D. while she was picketing in Zucotti Park.

The New York Post reports that the firm’s chief marketing analyst saw the 30-something Tracy Postert handing out her resume while taking part in the protests. He then invited her in for an interview – and later a job as a junior analyst evaluating medical companies as potential investments. The Post writes:

“I had been unemployed for so long, I thought why not?” said Postert, adding that she is in her 30's and has no background in finance or business. Her last paying job was as a lab assistant at Touro College making $2,500 for the one semester she worked there. Postert said the decision to accept was painful. But practicality won out. The starting salary as a junior analyst is near minimum wage, but in time, she can earn a cool six figures, assured Kaufman.

Postert has been on the job for three weeks and is studying to pass exams to be a certified analyst. Said her new boss, “She was ranting about Wall Street, and now she’s working on Wall Street. Banks are not so bad. I hope we have opened her eyes.”

Other News:

The top advisors under age 40 for 2011. [On Wall Street]

Columnist challenges the SEC’s quest for more power. [DealBook]

The Treasury is pushing 380 smaller banks to pay back their TARP money. [American Banker]

Regulators required life insurers in New York to pay 8,000 beneficiaries $52.6 million in overdue death benefits. [WSJ]

BofA will pay $315 million to settle claims of misleading mortgage securities investors. [NY Times]

The CFTC’s new rules will prohibit firms from using client funds to buy foreign sovereign debt. [DealBook]

Citigroup set up shop in Singapore to help corporate clients manage payments, and ANZ launches a cash management service for Asian clients. [Reuters]

Banker licensed by the Chinese government to do stock and bond deals are sought-after commodity. [WSJ]

KKR, TPG Capital and Permira are teaming with the China Development Bank to form a new investment arm. [The New York Post]

Syndicated lending in Singapore has almost doubled to a record this year. [Bloomberg]

Slideshow: Secrets of less successful advisors. [Investment News]

Bank of Montreal’s Q4 profit rose 21 percent. [WSJ]