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Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and unknowns in the dazzling world of derivatives [Paperback]

Satyajit Das (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: April 15 2006

Liar’s Poker with more lies and more insight,Traders, Guns & Money is a sensational insider’s view of the business of trading and marketing derivatives for a living.  It reveals the nature of the business, the players and how the real money is made and lost.  An accessible companion, a wise counsel and a great read.


  • A sensational and controversial first-person account of the business of derivatives trading and the financial products industry.

  • Offers a true insider’s view.

  • Funny and poignant, written in a wry and wickedly comic style.

  • Reveals how shareholders, clients, regulators, and the tax paying ordinary public bear most of the risk in the trading rooms.

  • Reveals the story of how one set of clients discovered the perils of unknowns in a derivatives deal. 

  • Traders, Guns & Money cleverly weaves together: the dazzling world of derivatives and how to work out what you know, don't know and need to know; an insider’s, expert witness account of the rise and rules of the world of derivatives and the astonishing story of how one set of clients discovered the perils of unknowns in a derivatives deal. 
  • Benchmark: Liar’s Poker 0340767006.Das now offers more lies and is set in today’s derivatives market, and Traders Gun's and Money is written not by a journalist but by a world-famous insider.

 

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  • Extreme Money: Masters of the Universe and the Cult of Risk by Satyajit Das Hardcover

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Review

The sexier side of finance ... at last ... a convincing picture of what life is like in today's modern financial industry. Traders Guns and Money by Satyajit Das not only has a catchy title, it actually manages to entertain, educate and inform."  Corporate Financier, July 2006

"A must read for all CEOs, CFOs, Bankers and anyone who cares about what banks are doing with their money." - Finance Asia, May 2006

"... revealing insider's account"  - Director, April 2006

"... true rarity: a derivatives book that keeps your attention all the way through. " FOW April 2006

"... a welcome addition to the literature."  - The Sheet, April 2006

"... a scalpel of a book" - Financial Engineering News, July 2006

"A distincly timely book... This makes fascinating reading.... A good crib sheet for how the whole derivatives game works. " - Financial Times, May 2006

"Forewarned is forearmed." - Money Week, May 2006

"Das is especially good on structured products and on the recently fashionable world of structured credit... a diverting read" - Financial World, July 2006

"a worthwhile read for anyone with connection to the financial world" - World Finance, July 2006

"The murky and complex world of finances and derivatives is scrupulously and frantically told in this brilliant narrative. ... This is a collection and recollection of exquisite financial tales well worth your time.' Convergence, September 2006

"...a fascinating and compelling insight into the world of derivatives... [TGM has] a page turning quality more reminiscent of a John Grisham novel than a dissertation on derivatives." - FINASIA, October 2006

"An absorbing accessible primer... scoots along at a blistering pace" - Wilmott Magazine, December 2006

Author featured as expert in Asia Risk, Bloomberg, Financial Times all in December 2006

"one of the most entertaining investment books I've read in a long time... I can't recommend this book strongly enough" - Blogginstocks Jan 07

"part thriller, part expose… will be useful for anyone with connection to finance…will tell you some of the truth of what really does go on." Society of Business Economists Book Review - Jan 07

 

From the Back Cover

Warren Buffet once memorably described derivatives as “financial weapons of mass destruction”. Read this sensational and controversial account of the often dazzling business of derivatives trading, and see if you agree.

 

No money is ever really made in financial markets. Markets merely transfer wealth. As to how to make money? Well, it is basically theft, misrepresentation, lies, cheating, deception or force. It is impossible to make the staggering amounts made in derivatives in good years honestly.

Traders, Guns & Money is a wry and wickedly comic exposé of the culture, games, and pure deceptions played out every day in trading rooms around the world, usually with other people’s money. Whether you move in the financial world yourself, know people who do, or have money invested in stocks, shares or derivatives, this is a fascinating read guaranteed to make you think.

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Most helpful customer reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read for all ages July 17 2006
By jburron
Format:Paperback
I've read many books on the markets--both anecdotal ones such as Mike Lewis's "Liar's Poker" and Frank Partnoy's "F.I.A.S.C.O." and more academics ones such as Mark Anson's "Handbook of Alternative Investments" and Alexander Ineichen's "Absolute Returns". Never, though, have I read one as well-balanced as Satyajit Das's "Traders, Guns & Money".

Mr. Das has something that other writers lack: range and depth of experience. He's written many academic texts on derivatives and is a 25-year veteran of the industry--and it shows. He's been on the buy-side, sell-side, middle-man and consulting and he doesn't pull any punches as he describes the players' motivations, personalities and inherent weaknesses. He also has a quant's understanding of the various products and permutations out there, but in explaining them he always takes the language back to Earth--which is a boon for all readers.

If you're at all interested in structured products (this includes Principal Protected Notes), derivatives or financial engineering, and whether you're at the start or end of your financial career you'll find this book interesting, enlightening and downright fun.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Financial thriller with great insights; simply blew my mind.. Nov 22 2006
By Altimonosaurus
Format:Paperback
'Investment banks do not generate wealth, they just disribute it' that's the key message of this book. Traders,Gun and Money explains - who,how,why

I have never worked in the investment banking industry. I got this book purely out of curiosity to find out what my immaculately dressed neighbours are upto(my office is next to an I-Bank). What I read baffled me; Satyajit Das effortlessly takes you into the scandulous world of derivatives- drawn from his 25 years in the industry- the lifestyle, money, greed, fear,power games, cleverly crafted products designed to rip-off, flawed hedging, crazy bets, gambits, counter-gambits and never ending cycle of bankers trying to find the next bestest thing. You'll ride through the market booms, busts and the consequences. It is written in a chronological order making it easier for the reader to understand the evolution of the investment banking to where we are today. Most of all, he makes it interesting; a rivetting read sprinkled with tons of humour.

This book has substance. There is analysis of the past events, dissection of some of the tricks, in basic detail that anyone can understand. I always had a hunch; you cannot make the huge earnings I-Bankers do honestly, year on year. Now I know I am right and why.

Highly Recommended for anyone who's interested in the world of finance, working and musings of capial markets.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.2 out of 5 stars  95 reviews
62 of 63 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for finance majors Nov 17 2006
By Joe Kolman - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This is not another journalist musing on the financial world. This is not an academic explanation of how financial instruments work. It's something else entirely -- a rare inside glimpse into the world of derivatives by a literate professional who's been a handshake away (or closer) from the major events in the market. Das leavens a series of technical discussions about particular strategies with more entertaining glimpses into the culture the drives the deals. Although I have bones to pick with the book's episodic structure, I can't think of a better way to get a crash course in how the capital markets really work.
88 of 93 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The starting point to the world of derivatives Sep 22 2007
By Chris Jaronsky - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Knowns and unknowns in the dazzling world of derivatives" great subtitle and the author really delivers. I love books on finance. Possibly stemming from being dropped on my head as a child. Some are pretty brutal to read but this one is as entertaining as it is educational.

I was familiar with some derivatives like futures contracts and options, before reading this book. Now derivatives like CDO (Collateralized Debt Obligations), CCO (Commodity Collateralized Obligations), currency swaps, interest rate swaps, or even inverse floaters make sense to me. Obviously I am far from being an expert on any of these, but after reading this book I can now understand why Warren Buffet called derivatives "Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction".

The author does a great job educating you in story-like fashion. The book told of numerous investors that ended up getting screwed by some pretty good salespeople at different dealer firms. Buyer beware comes to mind time and time again as I read these episodes. The treasurer of Orange County California got in way over his head because he was making a ton of money. Which he attributed to his financial wisdom. Then when interest rates went against him and his county lost 1.5 billion dollars he changed his tune saying he had some kind of brain defect and could not understand numbers. That would have been handy for the voters of Orange County to know BEFORE they elected him to office.

I guess there are many reasons to use derivatives like avoiding taxes, moving risk from highly regulated areas to less regulated areas, using loans as collateral for even bigger loans, or repackaging bad credit in a way that transfers the risk to someone else. The more I learn, the more I am amazed that supposedly very intelligent people see these as a great way to make money. It just goes to show that most people invest in things they do not understand.

I read an article by the author, Satyajit Das today. In the article he mentioned that "1 dollar supports 20-30 dollars worth of loans" and that the derivatives market at the moment is valued at 485 trillion dollars, or to make that a little more understandable, 8 times the global gross domestic product. 8 times the GDP of the entire planet. Wow.

This book is a great introduction to the world of derivatives and I highly recommend it.
66 of 74 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A double agent's account of his life as a spy Jan 9 2007
By Valeri Pushnya - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
As a derivatives trader I've seen many of my colleagues who just enter the field paying hundreds of dollars for thousands of pages of Mr. Das highly unreadable and stupefying compendiums on the subject of structured products. It is impossible to imagine a more serious and devote approach to derivatives than that exuding from his technical volumes. In comparison this new book feels like a gush of fresh air and while demystifying and ridiculing what used to be his bread and butter Mr. Das may look a bit cynical it is an honest book full of interesting and plausible examples and stories. For novices it can be very educational and for experts quite entertaining. It is like a memoir of a spy who turned out to be a double agent on his lifetime in secret services. When a guy knows so much who cares what side he was serving on?
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