Turning Up the Heat

The numbers are in, and they're not pretty.

Announced job cuts in the finance industry doubled since last year, according to a new report by Chicago-based outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The industry announced 6,156 layoffs in July of this year, compared to 3,018 a year earlier.

So far this year, banks, brokerages and other financial-services companies have announced plans to cut 26,352 jobs, nearly double the 14,752 it said it would cut a year earlier.

Practically every bulge bracket bank has announced layoffs, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.

Another metric you can use to monitor the industry's health is looking at how the recruiting agencies are faring. Staffing agency Robert Walters, which does much of its work in the Asia-Pacific region, said its second-quarter profit fell 56% from a year earlier amid a lag in banking sector hiring.

It's not just the banks that are hurting: it's employees and the people who find them, too.

The Comeback (Financial News)

Everyone can agree that investment banking revenues are lower than the altitude of the Dead Sea, but corporate banking isn't having too terrible a time of it. Banks are continuing to hire for this area.

Feeling the Burn (DealBook)

Bonuses are going to be down the season not only because of pitiful revenues on Wall Street, but because of government inaction, Peter Eavis writes.

New Head (Bloomberg)

Credit Suisse has appointed David DeNunzio as head of its mergers and acquisitions group. He's taking over for Steven Koch, who is leaving to become deputy mayor of Chicago. No word on whether he'll get a parody Twitter feed, too.

Landing on His Feet (Talking Biz News)

In case you were worried where UBS banker Robert Wolf was going to end up after leaving his firm, you can rest assured: He'll now be on TV, talking to other financial types.

Interesting Path (Digital Book World)

Chantal Restivo-Alessi used to do investment banking at ING, the Dutch financial services firm. Now she's the chief digital officer at HarperCollins. See, exit opportunities!

Women at the Top (WSJ)

More and more women are becoming deans of business schools, which is interesting because fewer and fewer women are becoming executives on Wall Street.

Buzz Around the Office

Ketchup with the Times (Business Insider)

If you're like us, you've been dunking your fries incorrectly for decades.

List of the Day: Mentors You Need

Try to cultivate relationships with the following types of people for a 360-degree view of your career.

1. Someone who is a year ahead of you.

2. Someone who has five years of experience.

3. Someone who can plan your career.

(Source: Forbes)