Hiring days here again for commodity traders

LONDON: Wall Street firms are again recruiting commodities traders with promises of $1 million bonuses as prices of raw materials from oil to copper double.

Less than a year after oil tumbled a record 54 percent and the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index was suffering its biggest drop ever, Bank of America Corp plans to boost commodity headcount by 25 percent. London-based Barclays Plc will increase staff about 6 percent. Morgan Stanley is recruiting traders in shipping. The banks declined to comment on compensation.

"You are definitely seeing $1 million or more guaranteed bonuses coming back for 2009," said George Stein, managing director at New York-based recruitment firm Commodity Talent LLC. "These bonuses would be for new hires who are 'movers and shakers,' those who can double the size of business within a short period of time."