What you need to know on Wall Street today

Wall Street's workforce is slowly and relentlessly shrinking.

Every year, the number of bankers and traders employed by the largest banks on Wall Street falls a little. Headcount has now dropped 12,700 from 2012 to 2017, with the bulk of those cuts coming in fixed income, currencies and commodities divisions. Here's a definitive breakdown of the gloomy state on Wall Street.

In related news, the investing business is about to go through "the largest competitive realignment" in history. And 2,000 Wall Streeters just had a meeting in Las Vegas, and they all kept making the same awkward noise.

The Trump administration thinks it can save $35 billion by rolling back Dodd-Frank regulations. Democrats on the House Committee on Financial Services have sent a letter to Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan asking for information on the banks dealing with President Donald Trump. BNP Paribas paid $350 million to settle a New York currency probe. And a bunch of hedge funders and government insiders have been charged with illegal trading.

Rothschild & Co, one of the oldest banks in Europe, just keeps on making hires in the US.

In deal news, the owner of Corona reportedly offered to buy the owner of Jack Daniels, but was turned down. And one of the world's largest commodities traders is in talks to make a big entry into America's agriculture market.

Hedge funds are betting billions that these 18 stocks are doomed, according to Goldman Sachs. And a tech startup founded by alumni of the world's largest hedge fund is launching in London.

In macro news, the Bank of Canada held rates at its latest monetary policy meeting. Moody's downgraded China. China's downgrade risks creating "a negative feedback loop," according to ANZ.

Geopolitical fear is at its highest point since the Arab Spring due to Trump, according to JPMorgan. And there’s another American economy facing talk of presidential impeachment.

Bitcoin soared past $2,300 and $2,400 for the first time. In related news, people are making a fortune buying government-seized bitcoins. And hot investing app Acorns has hired a former top exec at the world's largest investor.

The Polish embassy gave Jim Cramer a history lesson after the CNBC host compared Macy's to the Polish army in WWII. Elsewhere in retail:

Sears just scored a critical deal to extend its lifeline
Container Store explodes higher after sales beat, layoff announcement
Lowe's sinks after same-store sales miss
Tiffany reports a surprise drop in same-store sales

In tech, SoftBank has invested $4 billion into US graphics chipmaker Nvidia.

A cofounder of the Magellan Financial Group, which manages more than $37 billion, thinks the ride-hailing service Uber has a less than 1% chance of surviving the next decade.

We talked to one of the greatest chess players of all time, Garry Kasparov, about artificial intelligence and the interplay between machine learning and humans.

Lastly, here's how to grill the perfect steak.

What you need to know on Wall Street today

Enhance Your Pulse News Experience!

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!