Recent Reading

LIAR's POKER by Michael Lewis

Lewis' insider account of Salomon Brothers during the heady days of bond market boom in the 1980's. The description of the creation of the mortgage trading market and the resultant/subsequent savings and loans crisis echoes the sub-prime crisis we are seeing in the financial market (and quickly spreading to the rest of the economy) today.

Memorable quotes:

"[A British customer] disapproved of workdays longer than eight hours because, he said, 'you then arrive at the office in the morning with the same thoughts your left with late the night before.'"

"You don't get rich in [investment banking], you only attain a new level of relative poverty. You think Gutfreund feels rich? I'll bet not."

"Note to members of all governments: Be wary of Wall Streeters threatening crashes. They are tempted to do this whenever you encroach on their turf. But they can't cause a crash any more then they can prevent one."