Business this week

Citigroup, which has recorded a loss in each of the past four quarters, said that it would cut 52,000 jobs, on top of the 23,000 already announced since the beginning of the year. The latest reduction will leave Citi with around 300,000 employees. About half the posts will go in businesses that the bank is selling. Stockmarkets reacted negatively. Citi’s shares tumbled 23% on November 19th, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below 8,000 for the first time since March 2003. See article Goldman Sachs announced that its seven most senior bankers would not receive bonuses for 2008. The news followed Goldman’s receipt of a $10 billion capital injection from the American government and intense scrutiny of Wall Street bonuses on Capitol Hill. Barclays and UBS also said that their most senior executives would not be paid bonuses this year. The Swiss bank added that the compensation system for all its top staff would be revised from 2009, to put greater emphasis on long-term performance. ... (link)