The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, Feb. 3, edition that Canaccord Genuity Group ($6.30) plans to cut 4 per cent of its staff, blaming "market conditions" for the layoffs. The Globe's Bertrand Marotte and Niall McGee write that about 80 out of Canaccord's 2,018 staff will lose their jobs. The cuts will mostly affect its operations in Britain, Europe and the United States. It will incur a $22-million charge related to the layoffs. Canaccord was mum on what it meant by "market conditions." The company's heavy exposure to the energy sector is a concern. Over the past three years, about 15 per cent of Canaccord's investment banking revenue was directly tied to the energy sector, according to Bank of Nova Scotia analyst Sumit Malhotra. The S&P/TSX capped energy index is down about 30 per cent since July, 2014. Canaccord shares have lost about half their value in the same period. Mr. Malhotra says, "This is not exactly the type of environment that has either companies or their investors thinking 'bought deal,' and the deterioration in the capital markets environment has had a clear negative impact on activity levels and operating conditions for the broker-dealer sector."