Welcome back to another issue of ‘Career Guides Weekly’ by Career Guides.

Today’s Riddle: I'm a market condition where stock prices are declining, and pessimism prevails. What am I? (Scroll all the way down for the answer).

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Alright, small talk done, let’s dive in!

TODAY’S MENU

• Investment Banking: The roaring return of bonus expectations, Investment banks and asset managers lead City decline on racial equality, Barclays eyes cutting ties with thousands of investment banking clients, and more

• Global Markets: Bull market in view after S&P 500 hits fresh year-high, UK housing market shows new signs of strength, and more

• Asset Management: McKinsey predicts tougher times ahead for U.S. asset managers, BlackRock launches ESG-focused global securitised fund, Pension funds' share of U.K. stock ownership hits record low, and more

• Private Equity: Private equity firm explores £100m Jollyes sale, Private equity double-dips are a tasty faux pas, and more

• Hedge Funds: Top 10 ‘ideal’ hedge fund employers, Global hedge funds further offloaded Chinese stocks in November, and more

• Venture Capital, Tech, Crypto & AI: Bitcoin rises above $42,000 for first time since April 2022, This week’s 10 biggest funding rounds, and more

INVESTMENT BANKING (GET THE 100-PAGE GUIDE HERE)

Barclays is reportedly eyeing a plan to cut thousands of clients at its investment bank as part of a £1bn cost-cutting exercise aimed at boosting returns.

Barclays’ boss CS Venkatakrishnan is under pressure to try to improve the bank’s profitability and its stock market valuation, the latter of which lags behind many of its peers.

More than 500 employees departed RBC Capital Markets over the last quarter, as the Canadian bank followed Wall Street rivals by cutting staff amid a deal drought.

Royal Bank of Canada's capital markets arm had 7,253 employees at the end of the last quarter, according to annual results published on 30 November, around 500 fewer people than the prior three months.

• The roaring return of bonus expectations at JPMorgan, Bank of America (& Citi, maybe) (EFC)

• Barclays eyes cutting ties with thousands of investment banking clients (FN)

• RBC Capital Markets loses 500 staff amid investment bank layoffs (FN)

• Investment banks and asset managers lead City decline on racial equality (FN)

• Jefferies sets up investment banking unit in Canada to boost international expansion (YF)

GLOBAL MARKETS (GET THE 107-PAGE GUIDE HERE)

The S&P 500's feverish late-year rally has brought the index to its highest closing level of 2023, leaving it just 4.2% away from the all-time peak reached in January 2022.

A close above 4,796.56 on the S&P 500 would confirm that the index has been in a bull market since bottoming out on Oct. 12, 2022, by one commonly used definition.

The benchmark index is up 19.7% for the year and has risen 28.5% from its October 2022 low.

• Bull market in view after S&P 500 hits fresh year-high (RT)

• Britain sets out marketing rules for EU investment funds in the UK (RT)

• UK housing market shows new signs of strength (RT)

ASSET MANAGEMENT (GET THE 71-PAGE GUIDE HERE)

An operating environment marked by higher interest rates and inflationary pressures over the past 18 months is posing challenges for U.S. money managers but offering opportunities as well, even if a smaller group of firms appears positioned to thrive under that "new normal," according to McKinsey & Co.

Pension funds' share of the U.K. equity market has fallen to a fresh record low, partly reflecting their expectations of more profitable returns on overseas shares.

That's the view of the Office for National Statistics, whose data showed pension funds held 1.6% of U.K.-listed stocks in 2022, down from 1.8% two years prior.

The funds' slice of the market has steadily declined over the past three decades, from a peak of 32% in 1992, the statistics show.

• McKinsey predicts tougher times ahead for U.S. asset managers (P&I)

• BlackRock launches ESG-focused global securitised fund (FE)

• Pension funds' share of U.K. stock ownership hits record low (P&I)

• US ETF assets hit record $7.65 trillion in November (RT)

PRIVATE EQUITY (GET THE 127-PAGE GUIDE HERE)

• Private equity firm explores £100m Jollyes sale (RG)

• Private equity double-dips are a tasty faux pas (RT)

• Side Letter: UAE’s $30bn climate fund (PEI)

HEDGE FUNDS (GET THE 116-PAGE GUIDE HERE)

• Top 10 ‘ideal’ hedge fund employers (EFC)

• Global hedge funds further offloaded Chinese stocks in November (RT)

• Eisler Capital and the hedge fund infrastructure question (EFC)

VENTURE CAPITAL, TECH, CRYPTO & AI

• Bitcoin’s on the move, Spotify cuts staff, money floods AI (TC)

• Bitcoin rises above $42,000 for first time since April 2022 (RT)

• A comprehensive list of 2023 tech layoffs (TC)

• This week’s 10 biggest funding rounds (CB)

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

6 Pages You Need To Prepare Before Every Interview

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