For Jamie Obletz, who will graduate from Columbia Business School next May, these are going to be a tense nine months.

After a week-long internship at a European investment bank this summer, Mr Obletz was told he had a full-time job after he graduates next May. But after seeing Bear Stearns sold to JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers file for bankruptcy, and Merrill Lynch bought by Bank of America, Mr Obletz understandably feels anxious.