Despite bonus numbers being broadly in line with last year, there seems to be a real shift in momentum. After five years of false starts and a flaky market it finally feels like we have a real upturn on our hands, at least where hiring is concerned.

This time actually is different (at least for now). Good junior bankers aren't just getting one offer, they're getting multiple offers; there's more than one interesting buy-side opportunity out there; newly qualified accountants are firmly back in vogue; headhunters aren't just calling senior bankers more often - they're taking their own advice and changing jobs themselves.