“If you wanted financial reform to radically downsize the financial sector, or thought it was going to make a major dent in income inequality, you’re bound to be disappointed.” On the other hand, if you think that banks haven’t been affected by new regulations, you’d be somewhat misinformed. James Surowiecki on banking’s new normal.

+ What exactly do investment bankers do, and how do they earn all that money? It doesn’t matter much when you ask that question. But it really matters when merging corporations ask it. From the WSJ: An Investment Banker’s Worst Nightmare.

+ The current market conditions have been described as a “hedge fund killing field.” But managers have still found a way to make a killing. The top 25 hedge fund managers earned $13 billion in 2015.