2014 could be a good year for M&A analysts. UK-focused M&A has been a little inert in 2013, but more dynamism is expected soon. At the same time, big U.S. banks will need to hire more M&A juniors to meet their new commitments to shorter working hours for existing staff.

Goldman Sachs was the first to pare back juniors' working hours with its so-called 'Saturday rule' stating that junior bankers must not work from 9pm on Fridays until 9am on Sundays. Yesterday JPMorgan followed suite with an initiative for 'protected weekends' in which its junior bankers have one in every four weekends entirely work-free. Other banks are expected to adopt similar measures.

Both Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are expected to hire more junior bankers as a result of the initiatives. Goldman has committed to hiring 14% more M&A analysts next year than this year. JPMorgan says it will hire 10% more analysts to cope with the protected weekends.

Separately, Jamie Dimon has sent out a family Christmas card. Shown below, it depicts his three denim-clad Dimon daughters throwing tennis balls around denim-clad Jamie Dimon himself taking a swipe with a tennis racket, and his wife laughing hysterically. There's also some art which looks like an exploding pillow.

Meanwhile:

Over the past year, Goldman's shares have climbed 41%. Morgan Stanley is up 72%, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is up 31%. (WSJ)

15m messages are still sent by Bloomberg chat every day. Bloomberg wants to make them easier to monitor. (Financial Times) 

JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank are both cracking down on multi-trader chatrooms. (Bloomberg) 

Tom Hayes had planned to be a 'cooperating witness' in the LIBOR case and turn everyone else in. Not any more. (WSJ)

Wife of ex-Deutsche Banker says they used money from a charity they founded to buy expensive meals and furnishings. (Bloomberg)

SEC says Fabrice Tourre should personally pay $1.1m in fines. (Bloomberg)

David Hobbs, a former Mizuho trader, has been fined £175,000 by the FCA for allegedly inflating the price of coffee futures in collaboration with Andrew Kerr, a former broker. (The Times)

Goldman Sachs has named Charles McGarraugh, currently head of European mortgage-product trading, global head of metals trading. (Bloomberg) 

Firms are “rethinking risk, collateral management, product control, model validation and front office.” (JohnLothianNews)

How the CFA Charter helped my job search. (300 Hours)

Woman works 30 hours straight, drinks a lot of Red Bull, falls into a coma and dies. (Daily Mail)