Wall St. Hiring in Anticipation of an Economic Recovery
By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ
Published: July 10, 2010

While much of the country remains fixated on the bleak employment picture, hiring is beginning to pick up in the place that led the economy into recession — Wall Street.

The shift underscores the remarkable recovery of the biggest banks and brokerage firms since Washington rescued them in the fall of 2008, and follows the huge rebound in profits for members of the New York Stock Exchange, which totaled $61.4 billion in 2009, the most ever. Since employment bottomed out in February, New York securities firms have added nearly 2,000 jobs, a trend that is also playing out nationwide at financial companies, commodity contract traders and investment firms.

Though the figures are small in comparison to overall Wall Street employment, executives, economists and headhunters say they expect the growth to pick up steam in the coming months.

“I think we’re seeing some hiring in anticipation of better times,” said Rae Rosen, a regional economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. “Wall Street typically hires in anticipation of the recovery, and there is a sense that the economy has bottomed out and is slowly improving.”

The increase in hiring and cautious optimism stand in sharp contrast to the mood among workers in other fields, where jobs have been slow to return or are disappearing altogether. Since June 2008 the number of jobs has shrunk by nearly 14 percent in manufacturing and by 22 percent in construction, but only by 8.5 percent in the financial industry nationwide.

It is also the opposite of what is going in other highly paid, white-collar professions like law, where employment nationwide in June was the lowest since late 2001, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The financial work force in New York has shrunk by more than 28,000 since its peak in January 2008, but is still slightly above its level in 2003 after the tech bubble burst, meaning it actually weathered this recession — the worst since the Depression — better than the previous one. Nationally, staffing is back to where it was in late 2005, while employment in the overall economy is near 2004 levels.

As hiring has picked up on Wall Street, salary packages recalling the boom years are reappearing at the most senior levels. Richard Stein, president of Global Sage, an executive search firm, said corporate clients had offered compensation packages worth more than $1 million annually to 12 candidates in recent weeks.

“The offers are not near where they were in 2006, but there is still a war for talent,” he said. “Everyone thought the ice age had returned, but the thaw has come and we’re in catch-up mode.”

For the local economy, Wall Street’s rebound is a rare bit of good news. New York City is cutting services like day care and adult literacy programs to help balance its budget, while Albany is facing a $9.2 billion deficit in the state budget this year.

“These are jobs that bring a lot of money into the city and have an impact that is out of proportion to their number,” said Carl Weisbrod, former president of the Alliance for Downtown New York and the president of Trinity Real Estate.

That has a critical effect on city and state finances, driving both tax revenue and job creation. Each job in the securities sector generates two additional positions in New York City, according to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. In part, that is because the average salary is much larger, with Wall Street employees earning an average of $392,000, compared with $63,875 for other workers in the city.

“It’s a big deal for both the city and the state,” said Robert D. Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association, a leading independent planning group. “This is a significant turnaround.” Twenty percent of the state’s tax revenue comes from the financial sector, he said, while Wall Street accounts for about 12 percent of the city’s budget.

The hiring is not just a local phenomenon. Major investment banks are quietly rebuilding their global work forces.

Goldman Sachs added 600 jobs worldwide in the first quarter, while JPMorgan’s investment bank has hired slightly more than 2,000 people globally since the beginning of the year.

Closer to home, Credit Suisse’s investment bank, based in New York, filled 600 positions in the first quarter, with a significant portion in New York. Deutsche Bank has hired 414 people in New York, including 98 directors and managing directors since the start of the year.

Hiring is also picking up at boutique firms and at smaller foreign banks seeking a beachhead in New York.

Nomura of Japan has been especially aggressive, recently hiring several top bankers from Deutsche Bank. Nomura’s New York-based securities unit has increased its staff to more than 1,700, from 1,000 in March 2009, and the bank says it will hire 300 more workers by March 2011.

Macquarie, an Australian investment bank, has also rapidly expanded, even taking over new floors in its Midtown Manhattan headquarters to accommodate new trading operations. One morning last week, long rows of traders there worked the phones and watched a multitude of screens, evoking the heady days before the Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers downfalls.

“We are very bullish on the U.S.,” said Tim Bishop, who leads Macquarie’s United States operations.

On Thursday, Macquarie added six fixed-income traders in New York, and it plans to announce the hiring of six equity traders on Monday.

At Centerview Partners, a boutique investment bank that specializes in corporate advisory work, 10 bankers have joined the firm in New York this year, bringing its roster to 75. “I think hiring has turned the corner,” said Blair W. Effron, a former UBS vice chairman who was a founder of Centerview in 2006.

To be sure, Wall Street has long been the quintessential boom-and-bust industry, hiring rapidly on the way up and shrinking even more quickly on the way down.

Employment in the securities industry in New York was at 160,400 in May, up from the trough of 158,500 in February, but still well below its peak of 188,900 in January 2008, according to data prepared by the state comptroller’s office.

As the nascent increase in jobs suggests, the recovery is still very fragile. And executives say it could halt or even reverse if earnings reports for the second quarter, which begin this week, are disappointing.

As a result, some banks are hiring in stages, with one eye on the economy. In recent months, Morgan Stanley has hired 100 private bankers in the United States to serve wealthy clients but is holding off on plans to hire 400 more, waiting to see how the market performs.

Still, top banks and brokerages remain well aware of their reputation for taking reckless risks in the pursuit of profits, and they insist they are not simply reanimating the trading desks and other brash operations that caused the problem in the first place.

Of 400 recent hires in the sales and trading unit at Morgan Stanley, for example, the bank says only 100 are traders.

For all the criticism of Wall Street’s recent excesses, the industry remains New York’s growth engine.

“We’ve thought several times in recent decades that Wall Street was doomed and the city would go into decline,” said Kenneth T. Jackson, a professor at Columbia University and an expert on New York history. “The stock exchange goes back more than 200 years and has had lots of ups and downs, but like the city, it’s very resilient.”

Hello Heather,

I’m happy to help.

First and foremost, please tell your students that they need to grab my attention right away. As a recruiter or hiring manager, we look through hundreds of resumes a week for the same position. It’s exhausting - really - and the better a resume can stand out, the better chance there will be of me actually reading it in detail. It’s like reading the preface to a book. If I like what I read initially, then I slow down and read the details of the resume. If I don’t like what I see in the first 5-10 seconds, then I discard the resume.

So it is very important that your students format their resume in such a manner as to reach out and grab the attention of the hiring person.

Specifically:

A quick summary at the top of the page is always helpful. If you’re applying for a C++ programming position, guess what? Put “C++ Programmer” at the very top of your summary. If you are applying for a sales position, “Sales Professional” at the top of your summary comes to mind.

Dates are important. We recruiters don’t like to consider candidates who omit dates on their resumes. We assume that you’re hiding something. And even if you are, you would be better off listing those dates because you would have a better chance of receiving a response to your application than if you don’t. Also, please make sure the dates and over-all format of your resume is aligned in an easy-to-read way. In those first 5-10 seconds, I don’t want to be hunting for the dates on your resume… or details about your education.. or certifications, etc.

The “Movie-Trailer” resume. Think of your resume as a movie trailer, or like I said earlier, like the preface to a book. Highlight and format your resume in such a way that the important stuff jumps out at me first so that I want to settle in with a nice box of warm popcorn and a coke to read the rest. White space is good. Bold titles and logical alignment are even better. Resumes that look like they were thrown together at the last minute say a lot about a candidate. They say to me that you are about as good a candidate as Madonna is a movie actress.

Are you an Interesting Candidate? If you are, then tell me! Adding a simple section at the end of your resume with the title “Additional Interests” should do the trick. Here is where you tell me that you ran the Boston Marathon, hiked Mount Everest, or started an after-school rocketry program as a volunteer. Whatever it is that makes you interesting, please tell me.

In summary, encourage your students to treat their resume like book.. or a movie.. where the Preface or the “movie trailer” is just as important as the content itself.

I hope this helps…

Although this post is clearly self-serving, I have to say that there is no better time than now to work with a professional recruiter. Let me say that again. There is no better time than now (pause for effect…) to work with a professional recruiter. Just like every other industry today where only the strongest survive, so to is the case in my world. In my industry alone, I have witnessed numerous recruiting firms fall by the way side because when times got tough, they got going (out the door). Simply calling one’s self a recruiter does not necessarily make it so. This is a tough industry, and things like integrity, honesty, experience, hard work and empathy mean more today than they ever have before.

My advice for you is to research the recruiting firm as diligently as you would the firm you are planning to interview with. A simple Google search should do the trick. Search on the name of the recruiting firm followed by the words “scam, complaints,” etc. We have one competitor that is so prevalent on the scam boards that they created their own “compliments” board to counter all the complaints. Nice…

Also, when you make initial contact with the recruiting firm, have a serious chat with the recruiter. Ask him or her the tough questions. Make sure you are comfortable with them as an industry expert before agreeing to have them represent you. After all, if they don’t really know what they’re talking about, how can you expect them to have any credibility with the client they represent?

Finally, use your intuition. If it doesn’t feel “right” when you’re talking to the recruiter, it probably isn’t. There are plenty of shady operators out there in every industry - mine included. So make sure you feel comfortable that the firm you are working with is competent, coherent and honest. After all, this is your next career we’re talking about!

Things are tough enough. You don’t need to add to the existing challenges by making a mistake with your recruiter.

(from Breitbart.com on 6/15)
Inappropriate e-mail addresses:
A candidate who applied for a law enforcement position used this e-mail address in his resume — badtothebone@net.com.

A banking candidate used this one in his cover letter — greedisgood@mail.com.

And unless sexykitten@net.com is looking for a job in adult films, this person should choose another address.

Typos that will make you squirm:
Spell check doesn’t catch everything in resumes or cover letters, especially typos like these:

“I was hired to review the company asses in 2007.”
The candidate meant to write assets, not asses.

“Delivered daily massages to appropriate personnel.”
This administrative assistant meant to write that she delivered messages, not massages, to the appropriate personnel.

“As indicted, I have over 5 years of analyzing investments.” Perhaps this person meant to “indicate” something else.

Far too much information:
Like the candidate who wrote in her resume under hobbies: Gambling in Vegas.

Or the one who included this under admissions in his resume: “Failed the bar exam 3 times, passed on the fourth go-around, proving my dedication.”

And the candidate who began her cover letter with this: “I am going through a very nasty divorce and am currently unemployed. I need money fast and would really like this job.”

Eye-rolling objectives:
Hiring managers are used to self-serving statements such as: “I am looking for an opportunity where I can use my education to further my professional goals.” However, even jaded managers raised eyebrows at these:

“Looking for a full-time position with minimal time commitment.”

“To get a job and pay my bills.”

“I have no experience or skills, so I am willing to begin anywhere and learn.”

It’s unlikely that any of these candidates were considered for an interview. Remember, put the time and effort in now to edit and perfect your resume. Otherwise, don’t expect to receive very many responses - especially not from reputable firms.

Starting a new job can be very exciting, but it can be nerve-racking too. Not only do you have to think about keeping your book intact, but there’s also the persistent fear: Will I be sued? Of course there are no guarantees, but here are some pointers to help keep you on solid legal footing as you change jobs.

Know what you’ve signed.
Many brokers don’t have a copy of their employment agreement and have no idea what it says. This can make leaving much trickier. If you don’t have a copy, try to get one from someone who joined the firm around the same time you did. The agreements typically don’t change much from year to year, and it’s important to know what you agreed to, especially when it comes to non-compete and solicitation clauses. If you can’t get hold of an agreement, plan for the worst case scenario, which is that the firm will severely restrict your ability to solicit clients and provide services to clients after you’ve left, said Peter A. Savarese, general counsel with National Compliance Services Inc., a Delray Beach, Fla., consulting firm that works with advisors and broker-dealers. And when you join your next firm, make sure you keep a copy of this critical document.

Know what you owe.
When they leave many reps still owe money to their firms as a result of the large sign-on bonuses they received in the form of forgivable loans. Typically these loans are forgiven in stages over a period of years, but if you leave prematurely, the firm can demand full payment. What happens if you no longer have the money? Or you’re being asked to pay it back over a time frame that doesn’t work for you? “People who have these obligations need a realistic expectation of what would need to be paid back and on what terms,” said Patrick J. Burns, Jr., an attorney in Beverly Hills, Calif., who helps advisors go independent.

Be aware of your firm’s privacy policy and what it says about contacting clients after you’ve left.
A lot of reps assume that their clients’ information belongs to them so they want to take documents such as account statements and more. But the courts have deemed the information belongs to the clients and firms, not the advisor. “You can’t walk out with boxes full of account documents,” said Daniel Bernstein, director of professional services at MarketCounsel in Englewood, N.J., a regulatory and compliance consulting firm.

Indeed, privacy policy violations give firms “additional ammunition to possibly be successful if they choose to sue,” Savarese said.

Plan ahead.
Many reps run into trouble because they don’t think of all the issues that can come up from both a regulatory and a business perspective. “Everything is about preparation,” Bernstein said.

Say, for instance, you want to set up your own RIA. You can’t run an outside business while you’re employed by your firm, and even setting up the entity in your name while you are employed could be a problem. Of course, there are workarounds, but the process can be complicated and requires a lot of planning. For example, you may have someone else form the entity for you such as a friend or a spouse. If you’re part of a group, someone could leave first to handle all the leg work. “The less that the individual who is employed is involved the better…but it’s not always easy,” Bernstein said.

When you are planning a move, it’s also best to keep things as quiet as possible because things have a way of getting back to employers. Be careful of water cooler talk and even telling people at the firm you’re very close to and might want to take with you. “You can find yourself out before you’re really ready to go,” Bernstein said.

Another thing to consider is how much risk you’re willing to take. Do you want to risk violating your employment contract and take the chance you’ll be sued? Or do you want to make sure you never get a letter from an attorney telling you you’ve done something wrong?

Know whether the firm you’re joining has signed the broker protocol.
If it is, you’ll likely have an easier time transitioning clients. The pact stipulates that signatory firms will refrain from taking legal action against advisors who take basic client data with them when they move to another signatory institution. While the agreement doesn’t cancel out any of the privacy regulations, it may negate the non-solicit clauses you signed.

Approach clients with caution.
While you might be tempted, don’t tell clients in advance that you are leaving. Doing so has lots of potential downsides. For instance, you could be violating common law duties owed to your employer or breaching the terms of your employment agreement, thereby increasing the odds you’ll be sued.

To be sure, there are ways to maximize client retention, but you have to go about it tactically. “There are all kinds of strategies that can be utilized, but the worst part is taking for granted, or underestimating, the adverse consequences of not doing it property or without a strategy in place,” Savarese said.

Even after you leave your firm, contacting clients can be tricky. Every state, for example, has different employment regulations which define what soliciting means. Some allow you to do some type of tombstone ad, for example, while others are more or less restrictive, Bernstein said.

Get a good lawyer
While having an attorney doesn’t eliminate the risk of getting sued, it can be invaluable in trying to wade through the murky legal waters. It is particularly important if you’re a big producer, since the larger the book, the more potential there is that you’ll be sued. Firms are “going to miss the bigger producer more than the smaller producer,” said Burns who heads the firm in Beverly Hills.

Good legal advice is also especially important if your employer has a reputation of going after advisors who leave. If that’s the case, “the red flag should be up, and [advisors] need to be very sensitive to their approach with regard to their potential departure,” said Jeffrey Morton, a partner with the Washington-based ACA Compliance Group. “Getting experienced and competent counsel and advisors involved is invaluable to the process.”

Commentary by Susan Antilla

June 3 (Bloomberg) — You know things are getting back to normal in the markets when a brokerage firm shamelessly touts the arrival of a new recruit whose claim to fame isn’t that he has an M.B.A., or even that he’s good at making money.

Morgan Stanley has a new guy who set the National Football League record for the most receptions by a wide receiver in his first two seasons. Hey, isn’t that a reason to hand money over to a stockbroker?

The company said on May 27 that it had hired Wayne Chrebet, formerly of the New York Jets, to be a financial adviser in its Red Bank, New Jersey, office. In its 11-paragraph press release, the firm ticked off his NFL accomplishments, his charitable work (which is significant), his degree in sociology, and his awards. Nowhere, though, did it say anything about why Chrebet, who sounds like a decent enough guy, would be a good pick to manage an investor’s money.

The question of “What’s in it for the customer?” is so silly that Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Christine Pollak said she would have to check and get back to me. But let’s not pick on Pollak; it’s an open secret on Wall Street that the people who handle customers’ accounts are often hired for reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to look after a nest egg. You can’t blame her that the industry-wide system is driven by sales first, competence second. Or third. Or not at all.

Network of Pals

What does count in a new stockbroker is the ability to tap pals and former associates who have big bucks to open an account, and that’s something that guys such as Chrebet are well equipped to do, says Art Romero, who recruits stockbrokers for firms, including Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley.

“Any company would love to have a professional athlete on the payroll,” he says.

It works that way partly because athletes who make multimillion-dollar bonuses feel more comfortable entrusting their money to one of their own, Romero says, so making a hire like Chrebet is a coup.

Mere mortals outside the sports world with only a million or so to spare are also attracted to big sports names, says Kenneth L. Shropshire, professor of business ethics and director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative. Brokerage firms know well that there’s a chunk of the investing public uncontrollably prone to name-dropping. Give them a broker with a sports background, and they are off to their next cocktail party blabbing about Joe Jock.

‘My Guy’

“There is some group of people who want to say ‘This is my guy,” Shropshire says.

Jocks who go into the investment business don’t necessarily do a bad job; it’s just that name-dropping is a stupid reason to pick a broker. Or maybe not. If “your guy” was a former California State baseball star named Salvatore “Sam” Favata, you now have cocktail-party bragging rights to knowing Prisoner No. 43941-112 in the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex in Lompoc, California. Favata, a former president of the private money investment division of the now-defunct National Consumer Mortgage of Orange County, California, pleaded guilty in 2006 to defrauding investors of more than $30 million in a Ponzi scheme.

Then there’s Lenny Dykstra, the former New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies player who became such a hit with the public as an investment expert that he started a column in 2005 for Thestreet.com, was hailed as a “fledgling guru” by Fortune magazine in 2006, and started an investment magazine for athletes last April.

Dykstra’s Lawsuits

Today, he is behind on payments on the California mansion he purchased from Wayne Gretzky, according to news reports, and he’s dealing with lawsuits from his airplane pilots, people involved with his magazine, and Oppenheimer & Co., one of his brokers. His magazine was shut in November. Thestreet.com replaced him in April with Jon Najarian, another sports guy (former middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears). And presumably, his dopey followers have moved on to some equally unfit investment superstar.

At Morgan Stanley, Pollak did get back to me to delineate Chrebet’s qualifications. “I can tell you that over the last six months, he’s been with the firm and he has received all of the appropriate and required licensing and training, officially becoming a financial adviser on the 22nd of May,” she said. Chrebet himself wasn’t available for comment, Pollak said.

Shropshire, the Wharton professor, says you don’t have to be a jock to wreck a portfolio; and, who knows, maybe Chrebet will be the next Warren Buffett. Still, the sports-star-turned- broker phenomenon reminds Shropshire of the same “in crowd” mentality that drew some investors to sign up with Bernie Madoff.

If the best argument for hiring a broker is that he’s a star at something other than making money, watch his videos on youtube.com and make a contribution to his favorite charity.

(Susan Antilla is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.)

Ways to ace your phone and in-person interviews in a competitive finance industry. - TheLadders Staff

Considering the state of the finance industry, every competitive edge counts when you’re preparing for that interview. Recruiters and job seekers offered TheLadders insights into the dynamics of interviewing in finance today.

Art Romero is managing director and owner of The Academy Group which is based in Denver but works with finance clients nationwide. He’s both self-effacing and assertive about the importance of his discipline to finance job seekers in a tight market. “Certainly, it’s biased. Being a recruiter, of course I’ll say that the best way in a door is through a recruiter,” said Romero. But the obvious dynamic – that the finance market is shrinking and the pool of candidates is growing – means that any company with an opening will be flooded with thousands of resumes. No hiring manager has the time to go through all of those, so they hire recruiters to weed through them.

“They want a recruiter to hand them the perfect candidate on a silver platter,” Romero said.

Making the right approach to the hiring manager is also key, according to “Esther,” a member of TheLadders who is using the service in conjunction with her networking skills to find a new job as a lawyer in financial services.

“I try to read between the lines and see what they’re really looking for, beyond the bullet lists of requirements, and analyze what that implies for the firm,” Esther said. “My approach is to create my own job by understanding what they really need, then showing them how I can add value.”

Mr. Romero extends that advice to the initial phone interview with a recruiter. “Too many candidates take these too lightly, either taking them on their cell phones with spotty reception or while they’re running an errand. You need to convince me that you’re a good person for me to put in front of my client; that you’re not going to make me look bad. Not taking this call seriously is not going to do that,” said Romero.

A few more basic reminders from recruiters who work in finance:

“Very often [candidates are] more interested in tooting their horn or beating their chest and regaling the interviewer with their accomplishments in regards to the positions that they’re going for, when they may not relate to the role at hand.”– Harold Laslo, a staffing specialist at the Aldan Troy Group in New York
“One mistake that’s happened a couple times is that when they get to the final interview — which is often just a formality — candidates assume the job is already theirs. Instead of asking about perks, they’re joking about the accommodations they were put up in. By not fighting for the job, they don’t get it.” – Art Romero

“I remind them not to interrupt, don’t tap your pen on the desk, don’t insert the person’s name into your answers and don’t hang yourself — if you’re asked what time it is, don’t tell them how to build a watch. Common-sense stuff, but it gets forgotten.”– Sherry Brickman, a partner at Martin Partners near Chicago
“Candidates sometimes forget certain skills, especially if they’ve had a long history with the company they’ve been with.” – Sherry Brickman

“A candidate should have some knowledge about the company where they are interviewing. Previously, this information wasn’t as attainable as it is now. To walk in totally unprepared at a senior level is very harmful when you could have gone to their Web site and gotten a minimal amount of background information about them.” – Harold Laslo

I wasn’t there, but I can imagine the thought process of Captain “Sully” Sullenberger on US Air Flight 1549 went something like this:

1. bird strike, one engine out… Crud! Fly the airplane.. engine number two out.. more Crud! Fly the airplane.. keep wings level… AVIATE… check!

3. call the controllers and let them know what I’m doing. Alert the crew and passengers.. COMMUNICATE.. check! Now fly the airplane and land.

Which, as we know, he successfully accomplished.

Being a Financial Advisor in today’s turbulent times also requires a similar check list. The last course of action you want to take right now is one of panic and confusion. You’ll lose your passengers (clients) faster than Captain Scully can say, “check!” Instead, follow what he did.

1. FLY the airplane. Remain calm in your approach to financial management of your clients and don’t make any abrupt moves that would cause your aircraft to lose control.

2. NAVIGATE your career and the safety of your client’s portfolios. Now is a good time to re-evaluate your landing spot. Will you remain where you are right now or should you consider other “landing” options? Where do you want to take your passengers for a safe landing? If your current company is not a safe place for them, start considering other options.

3. COMMUNICATE your intentions to your clients. Whether you decide to stay where you are presently, or if you are considering other options, tell your clients now so that they are comfortable knowing that you are in control. I remember reading that one of the passengers from flight 1549 said that when he heard the Captain announce that they were going down and to prepare for a hard landing, he knew he was going to be alright because his captain sounded very confident and reassuring.

Be that Captain to your clients. They need you now more than ever…

Subaru posts 2008 sales increase in US

CHERRY HILL, N.J. – Subaru said Monday its U.S. sales crept higher in 2008 on strong demand for Forester and Impreza models. The Japanese company is the only major automaker so far to post an increase in yearly sales.

Subaru’s December sales fell 7.7 percent to 17,287 units from 18,739 in December 2007, as a big increase in Forester sales failed to overcome declines in its remaining models.

But Subaru sales for all of 2008 rose by 0.3 percent to 187,699 vehicles from 187,208 in 2007, as consumers snapped up its top-selling Forester and Impreza models. The company is likely to be the sole large automaker to report higher sales for 2008, as the troubled economy pummeled new car sales across the industry.

Yeah, you read that right - Subaru actually sold more cars in 2008 than in 2007. (More here: “Subaru posts 2008 sales increase in US”)

Now contrast that with this little graphic from Edmunds today:

(More here: “2008 U.S. Auto Sales Are Worst Since 1992″)

Holy smokes - those are some dismal numbers.

We’ve talked about this before back in July (see “Who says the US automobile market is flat? Not VW.”) It’s just like I said back then - there are still companies - and financial advisors - succeeding even in these tough times.

So take heart in that, don’t buy into the gloom-and-doom, and realize that success as a financial advisor is still very much within your reach.

Here’s the key data from “At Least Amazon Had A Good Christmas” at Techcrunch today - take a good look at these numbers:

Peak items ordered on a single day

2008: 6.3M
2007: 5.4M
2006: 4.0M
2005: 3.6M
2004: 3.6M

Items ordered per second

2008: 72.9
2007: 62.5
2006: 46.3
2005: 41
2004: 32

Peak items shipped on a single day

2008: 5.6M
2007: 3.9M
2006: 3.4M
2005: 2.7M
2004: 2M+

You can read even more details in the official news release “Amazon.com’s 14th Holiday Season Is Best Ever”.

You already likely know where I’m going with this one, too - even in the middle of the current downturn with daily stories about one more problem or failure, money is still being spent and still being made.