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June 11, 2011
As an ominous indicator solidifying the speculation of late that the economy has entered into a double-dip depression, major Wall Street broker dealer banks have begun layoffs. Barclays, Credit Suisse, and the smaller Leerink Swan initiated a wave of layoffs last week. Morgan Stanley will likely lay off workers in the equities division this upcoming week. 
These layoffs are a result of the prolonged contraction in equity trading volumes, and thus commission revenue, as investors continue to allocate assets to safer fixed-income and commodity investments. Although the layoffs are not directly related to a poor overall economy, as most leading-indicator hiring changes at Wall Street banks have been in the past, they are nevertheless a bad development for the economies of the States of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Our field checks indicate that hedge funds have not yet begun any layoffs. That might change if the market corrections caused by end of QE2 persist.
Update: June 17, 2011
Manhattan apartment sales and commercial real estate will be smacked with a shock likely to send those markets into a double dip depression. Wall Street banks will be laying off thousands of people, as profits shrink, according to the New York Times. BatteryPark.Tv first warned of this on June 11.
Update: June 30, 2011
Update: August 4, 2011
The markets are tanking and HSBC announced 30,000 layoffs. Credit Suisse is laying off as well. The rest will also make major layoffs, we predict.
Update: August 10
Bank of New York Mellon announced a 3% cut in staff, or 1,500 people.
Update: August 19, 2011
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Bank of America will fire at least 10,000 people this year, starting with a 3,500 person tranche
August 23, 2011
UBS is now laying off 3,500 workers, or 5.3% of its workforce, according to Bloomberg
September 9, 2011
The WSJ is reporting that Bank of America might lay off 40,000 more people as it restructures.