Dove Target -- Wall Street High Finance Chronicle: Wall Street High Finance Chronicle

Author: Frank Partnoy
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: This is a book that stockbrokers and fund managers don't want you to see, but it's a book you can't afford to miss. The Predators' Ball is a record of the growth of an "insider," an astonishing textbook about the ruthless high-level financial activities of the 1990s. It chronicles the journey of a young Morgan Stanley broker learning the rules of the game. From New York to Tokyo, from South America to Asia, this complex and ruthless network creates and trades securities that are both incredible and deeply unfathomable—almost no one truly understands these securities, especially those buyers who are naive and uninitiated. Billions of dollars in wealth have been lost in this process, including a portion of yours, whether you know it or not. Frank Partnoy's experience is somewhat cartoonish, with many unbelievable characters in the book. However, the dark he exposes should cause fear and vigilance among all investors—regardless of whether you hold stocks, mutual funds, or even insurance products. The world of financial derivatives is filled with wild "rocket scientists" who lobby unsuspecting victims to buy derivatives (whose value is related to or "derived" from other securities). These brokers often jokingly call their creations "weapons of mass destruction," and it's no exaggeration—real-life derivatives have led clients to be "blown to the heavens" or have their "faces torn off." The real-life derivatives chapter involves Orange County, Baring Bank, Procter & Gamble, and more companies. Partnoy also reveals in the book the highest-commissioned trade in Wall Street history, codenamed "MX."