OSLO, Norway — Late speculation ahead of the Nobel Peace Prize to be announced Friday swung heavily toward an award recognizing anti-nuclear efforts on the 60th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs.

Favorites among a record 199 nominees included International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei, and anti-nuclear campaigners such as Sen. Richard Lugar and former Sen. Sam Nunn, and Japan’s Nihon Hidankyo, the international confederation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Sufferers.

The Norwegian awards committee, which does not say who was nominated, announces its decision in Oslo at about 5 a.m. ET. Committee secretary Geir Lundestad said the committee is more secretive than ever, after two previous leaks minutes before the announcement.

In both cases, the committee called the winner, then word got out to the media aheadtheir projects on an ad hoc basis.

The Bar: a vanishing requirement

The famous Bar was for a long time seen as the Holy Grail, a prerequisite for access to certain positions even those which were in-house. Nowadays, other equally prestigious qualifications may open the door to these roles (a law degree, dual training etc.). On the other hand, Bar admission clearly continues to be well regarded, particularly in the financial services sector and most of all within large private banks.

Salaries: occasionally decreasing budgets

We will soon publish a new and detailed pay study covering the Tax, Legal and Compliance sectors in Romandy. An underlying trend from Senior to Managerial positions is clear to see: that being a plateau-effect or even erosion of salaries levels among senior staff. At the same