Even the masters of the universe don't know what to expect any more. 

After seeing portfolios battered by the global Coronavirus pandemic, some of Wall Street's biggest names may be reconsidering plans - at least, judging by their job postings. 

Bridgewater ($PRIVATE:BRIDGEWATER), founded by investing wizard Ray Dalio, has seen its Pure Alpha fund hit for 21%, and its All-Weather fund lose 14% - and those figures are a little old, coming from the Wall Street Journal. Bridgewater - which also is known to recruit privately - slashed the job postings listed at its website by 62%, according to Thinknum Alternative Data.

Blackrock posted an even steeper drop, of 92% of its job postings, according to the same data sets tracking its listings. Blackrock's ($BLK) careers page matches Thinknum's job postings count closely. It's unclear how the Coronavirus crisis has impacted Blackrock, which is also partnering with the US Federal Reserve to coordinate billions in bond purchases.

Even Millennium Management ($PRIVATE:MILLENNIUMMANAGEMENT), which, according to the Financial Times, shuttered some of its trading 'pods' after steep Coronavirus losses, is posting fewer jobs. However, that follows a big year-end run-up in postings, and it remains unclear whether Izzy Englander's multi-billion-dollar fund has been hard-hit in the pandemic. 

Finally, Wall Street legend David Tepper is doing a little bit of different cost-cutting this week - his Carolina Panthers cut Cam Newton, the quarterback that led the team to its most recent Super Bowl appearance, after an injury-filled season. 

About the Data:

Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales. 

Further Reading: 

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