London Loses to New York

The European debt crisis may claim thousands of London finance jobs by the end of 2012, with the wholesale financial services industry taking the brunt of the damage.

U.K. researcher Oxford Economics estimates London will have a net loss of 3,000 financial jobs this year, while the wholesale financial market may be responsible for more than 25,000 job cuts, according to Bloomberg. The reductions end a run of positive growth in London, which added approximately 28,000 finance jobs in 2010 and 2011, plus another 13,000 in the first quarter of 2012.

In contrast, New York will add roughly 9,000 finance jobs in 2012, says Oxford, powered by spikes in consumer lending and the growth of smaller boutique firms.

Those with jobs, however, are likely to get good holiday bonuses, though not at the level they had previously expected. Compensation consultant Johnson Associates said last week that year-end bonuses will be unchanged to 10% higher than in 2011, down from the 5% to 15% increases expected in Johnson's May report.

The consultancy firm blamed the shift on Europe's sovereign-debt crisis.

Aviva Taking Bids (Financial Times)

Unnamed U.S. private equity houses and financial services group Guggenheim Partners are said to be in the running to acquire the U.S. wing of U.K. insurer Aviva, although the talks are being described as preliminary.

Another One Bites the Dust (Bloomberg)

Christopher Rokos, co-founder of $36.7 billion hedge fund Brevan Howard Asset Management and one of the firm's top traders, is leaving the company and will stop managing money by the end of the month. Three co-founders have now left Brevan Howard in the last three years.

When You Fall Off the Horse… (Forbes)

Jon Corzine, the former chief executive of disgraced brokerage firm MF Global, is reportedly considering opening his own hedge fund, pending that pesky criminal investigation into the collapse of MF Global.

Layoffs Abound (FINS)

Some banks are hiring in certain areas, but job cuts outweigh additions. In her last FINS post, Julie Steinberg takes a look back at the job market for first half of 2012.

Pay Freeze (Financial Times)

Facing criticism for gaudy executive compensation packages, Australian bank ANZ plans to freeze the salaries of its most senior execs for the second straight year. The roughly 900 top executives will continue to be eligible for bonuses, however.

Inflate Inflation (WSJ)

Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, suggested last week that the Fed may need to allow inflation to creep past the current target of 2% to help stimulate job growth.

Wasendorf Pleads Not Guilty…For Now (Reuters)

Russell Wasendorf Sr., the disgraced Peregrine Financial Group chief executive arrested last month for allegedly falsifying bank statements, pleaded not guilty on Friday to 31 charges of misleading federal investigators. Wasendorf is expected to broker a plea deal.

Heading East (Financial News)

Asset manager Adveq has opened a new office in Hong Kong, giving the private-equity firm a third location in China.

Buzz Around the Office

Put a Fork in Him (Daily Mail)

A U.K. man complaining of cramps was relieved to find out he wasn't suffering from a debilitating stomach condition. He had swallowed a nine-inch fork a decade ago and simply forgot about it.

List of the Day: Damage Control

Everyone has embarrassing moments here and there. Here's how to make sure they don't impact your career.

1. Acknowledge your misstep with a joke.

2. Stay relaxed -- it'll reduce others' judgment and anxiety.

3. Apologize directly to someone if you've offended them.

(Source: AOL Jobs)