Asia's Wall St gloom may be lifting, but year ahead won't be that great either

Hong Kong

INVESTMENT banks in Asia have been engulfed in the gloom surrounding job cuts in Wall Street trading floors. There are some green shoots emerging, but things just won't be as good as last year.

Despite some early signs of a revival in stock markets, this is likely to be a tough year for trading and investment banking worldwide, as firms grapple with record low interest rates, plunging energy costs and cooling emerging market growth.