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

Lots going on in the world of finance and banking this week from job cuts at investment banks like Citi, insider trading by a Goldman Sachs and Blackstone analyst, an asset management industry changing takeover by BlackRock, and so much more.

Let’s dive in!

TODAY’S MENU

• Investment Banking: Citi to Cut 20,000 Jobs, Posts $1.8 Billion Loss in ‘Disappointing’ Quarter, London Finance Job Vacancies Slumped Nearly 40% in 2023, Bank Valuations Could Rise by $7 Trillion in Five Years, and More

• Global Markets: Morning Bid: Markets Weather Beijing's Displeasure on Taiwan, Former Goldman, Blackstone Analyst Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading, Middle East Escalation Tilts Balance of Risks in Markets, and More

• Asset Management: Bond ETFs: Mastering Today's Market, BlackRock Strikes $12.5 Billion Deal for Global Infrastructure Partners, Wells Fargo Warns of Lower Interest Income in 2024, and More

• Private Equity: Private Equity Pulse: Key Takeaways from Q4 2023, How the $12.5 Billion BlackRock-GIP Deal is Set to Shake Up Investment Management, and More

• Hedge Funds: Here's How Millennium, Point72 and Others Finished 2023, Brevan Howard Founder Shares in £268 Million Pay Day, and More

• Venture Capital, Crypto & AI: How to Build a Solid — and Profitable! — AI Startup, Google Pulls Binance and Other Global Crypto Apps from India Store, and More

INVESTMENT BANKING (GET THE 100-PAGE GUIDE HERE)

Citigroup said it would cut 20,000 jobs over the next two years, acknowledging a "clearly disappointing" quarter marred by one-off charges that resulted in a $1.8 billion loss.

Job opportunities in London's financial sector plummeted nearly 40% last year, recruiter Morgan McKinley said on Monday, as market turbulence and high inflation led employers to tighten their belts on costs.

Available jobs in finance decreased by 38% in 2023 compared to the prior year, according to the firm's London Employment Monitor, while the number of job seekers also declined 16%.

• Citi to cut 20,000 jobs, posts $1.8 billion loss in 'disappointing' quarter (RT)

• London finance job vacancies slumped nearly 40% in 2023 (RT)

• US banking giants shed over 17,000 employees in turbulent year (RT)

• Bank valuations could rise by $7 trillion in five years (RT)

• German M&A outlook clouded by growing economic challenges (RT)

• Deal Dive: Tier and Dott’s merger is not a sign of what’s to come in M&A this year (TC)

TOGETHER WITH BEYOND EDUCATION

Last Minute Internship With Beyond Education

If you think it’s too late to secure an internship for summer… Think again!

Our friends over at Beyond Education are helping students secure last minute opportunities one internship at a time working with a handful of global employers.

They’ve just launched an internship programme with a global Investment Manager who has over $700bn in assets under management.

To learn more about the roles available, speak to hiring managers directly and discover tips to stand out in the application process, sign up to their upcoming insight events:

• Insight into Infrastructure Private Equity & Sustainable Fixed Income

• Technology, Marketing & Financial Controls

PS: Don’t forget to mention that Career Guides sent you (when filling in their insight event registration forms). Good luck! 😉

GLOBAL MARKETS (GET THE 107-PAGE GUIDE HERE)

So far there's been limited reaction to the victory over the weekend of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan, which left the cross-strait status quo largely intact and Beijing predictably irritated.

There was also a muted response to the surprise decision by China's central bank to skip a rate cut on its medium-term lending facility loans and instead just pump more liquidity into the banking system.

For global investors who came into 2024 with doubts about how long stock markets can rally and when central banks will cut rates, a sudden widening of the war in Gaza is swaying the narrative and could prompt them to cut exposure to risk.

• Morning Bid: Markets weather Beijing's displeasure on Taiwan (RT)

• Middle East escalation tilts balance of risks in markets (RT)

• Former Goldman, Blackstone analyst pleads guilty to insider trading (RT)

• Explainer: Charting the Fed's economic data flow (RT)

• Morgan Stanley to pay $249mn to end block trading probe (RT)

• European markets rise amid positive UK data and US inflation anticipation (FE)

• China growth seen slowing to 4.6% in 2024 (RT)

• Spain's record bond sale marks Eurozone market surge (FE)

If you love Career Guides Weekly and you’re interested in the global markets, then you should probably subscribe to the ‘Daily Market Exchange Newsletter’:

ASSET MANAGEMENT (GET THE 71-PAGE GUIDE HERE)

In 2023, investors relocated from equities to fixed income, motivated by heightened risks in risk assets, economic growth concerns and central banks' robust response to price pressures. This shift follows a decade of low-to-negative interest rates, presenting attractive entry points in government bonds and investment-grade credit. How, though, are these changing market dynamics influencing the strategies of both individual and institutional investors in bond ETFs? Find out here.

BlackRock said on Friday it would buy Global Infrastructure Partners for $12.5 billion in a major bet on alternative assets and announced a shake-up of its top management. The deal, which includes $3 billion in cash and 12 million BlackRock shares, will put the asset management giant at the heart of investing in ports, power, and digital infrastructure projects around the globe.

• Bond ETFs: Mastering today's market (FE)

• BlackRock strikes $12.5 bln deal for Global Infrastructure Partners (RT)

• Wells Fargo warns of lower interest income in 2024 (RT)

• Work-life balance top of mind for young talent (P&I)

PRIVATE EQUITY (GET THE 127-PAGE GUIDE HERE)

• Private Equity Pulse: key takeaways from Q4 2023 (EY)

• Goldman: Private equity will have to go ‘back to the future’ in new rate environment (CAM)

• Private equity firms face pressure as dry powder hits record $2.59 trillion (S&P)

• How the $12.5bn BlackRock-GIP deal is set to shake up investment management (FT)

• Private equity has to make returns the hard way, says Goldman Sachs executive (FT)

• Large Backers of Private Equity Are Asking For Their Money Back (BBG)

HEDGE FUNDS (GET THE 116-PAGE GUIDE HERE)

• Hedge fund annual returns are rolling in — Here's how Millennium, Point72 and others finished 2023. (BI)

• Hedge funds hunt new 'magnificent' tech stocks (RT)

• Brevan Howard founder shares in £268m pay day from hedge fund (TT)

VENTURE CAPITAL, CRYPTO & AI (GET THE 122-PAGE VC GUIDE HERE)

• Google pulls Binance, other global crypto apps from India store (TC)

• How to build a solid — and profitable! — AI startup (TC)

• How low can bitcoin ETF fees drop before it hurts a business? (TC)

• All the future of transportation tech that stood out at CES 2024 (TC)

• The creator economy is ready for a workers’ movement (TC)

BEFORE YOU LEAVE

ENJOYING THIS ARTICLE?

Supercharge Your Finance Career In Just 5 Minutes Each Week

Get the weekly email that keeps you updated on everything going on in the world of IB, AM, S&T, PE, HF, and VC, for free.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

🧠 The 'Buy-Side' vs The 'Sell-Side' And The Main Differences Between Them

FREE RESOURCES

Complimentary Guides For Members