KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded to close higher on Wednesday on selective buying of defensive stocks after a volatile trading session. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said consumer products and services stocks lifted the key index higher, overcoming lingering geopolitical concerns. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.08 points to 1,715.56 from yesterday’s close of 1,712.48. The benchmark index, which opened 1.91 points higher at 1,714.39, moved between 1,710.79 and 1,720.59 during the day’s trading. In the broader market, gainers outstripped decliners 550 to 476, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,129 untraded, and 48 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion from 2.94 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion on Tuesday.
JPMorgan Caps Junior Banker Hours, Bank of America to Monitor Workloads as Weekly Hours Surge Past 100
Two of Wall Street’s largest investment banks, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp (BofA), are introducing new measures to address the growing workload of their junior bankers, amid industry-wide complaints of weekly hours exceeding 100.
JPMorgan plans to limit junior banker hours to 80 per week in most cases, according to a person familiar with the matter. Exceptions may apply for additional work needed to complete live deals. This marks the first time JPMorgan has imposed such a cap, aligning with New York state regulations on hours worked by medical residents.
Meanwhile, Bank of America is launching a new internal platform this month to more closely monitor individual workloads. The system, known as the "banker diary," has been in testing since earlier this year and will track trainee hours daily instead of weekly, allowing the firm to identify who is busiest and redistribute assignments more evenly.
Wall Street has seen escalating demands on its junior staff in recent months as firms push to capitalize on a surge in corporate deals. These pressures have tested the promises made by banks a few years ago to provide junior employees with more breaks. The debate over workloads intensified after the death of Bank of America associate Leo Lukenas from a heart attack in May, prompting concerns over whether workloads were becoming unhealthy.
Bank of America has stated that it takes junior bankers’ health seriously and frequently reviews policies to ensure staff well-being. However, some junior bankers revealed to Bloomberg in June that they were reducing their reported work hours to avoid breaching the 100-hour weekly limits, fearing scrutiny from human resources and potential backlash from managers.
The new system being implemented by Bank of America aims to monitor workloads more accurately and distribute tasks more efficiently. “We successfully piloted this improved technology platform earlier this year to help our team more efficiently serve our investment banking clients,” a Bank of America spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
These measures come as part of the banks' efforts to respond to growing concerns about employee welfare and work-life balance in a highly demanding industry.
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