City Jobs Gloom as Merrill Cuts Costs by Pounds 150 Million

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MERRILL LYNCH cancelled its Christmas party and warned of bonus cuts yesterday as part of a drive to save pounds 150m a year because of the market turmoil that has slashed the earnings of City investment banks.

City gloom deepened as Daiwa Securities, which has lost nearly $1bn worldwide this year, issued P45s to 50 redundant staff, marking its second round of cuts this year.

In August the bank shed around 65 staff, or around 10 per cent of the total.

Staff at Daiwa were notified individually yesterday about the job terminations. A spokeswoman said last night that a formal statement confirming the redundancies will be made today, but dismissed a rumoured …