Pain & Pleasure

mingsphinx · Mar 31, 2009

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03292009/news/regionalnews/axed_gals_take_pole_positions_161908.htm

http://cityfile.com/dailyfile/5103

Take a look at Randi and tell me if you would pay her a tip to see her naked big boned pot bellied body. But then it turns out that it is not true and Randi is really just a failed actress going for a publicity stunt. It would make a great movie though to star a knock out as a former Wall Street banker 'forced' into the flesh trade after losing her finance gig because she cannot bear to give up the luxuries she has gotten used to. Do I hear any offers for the rights because I will hammer out the script if you really want me to.

Gold Standard · Mar 31, 2009

DAMMMMMNNNN...NO PAIN INVOLVED..just some pleasure:eek: :eek:

mingsphinx · Mar 31, 2009

http://www.financialpost.com/magazine/story.html?id=1422351

The problem is worse in Hong Kong, where losing your job is tantamount to a deportation order if you haven't lived in the city for at least seven years. And the problem extends far beyond these two cities. Globalization has led to the relocation of thousands of businessmen around the world in the past two decades. At the start of the financial crisis, for example, Citigroup Inc. had more than 50,000 people in Asia. Even as late as this past September, recruiters were promoting overseas assignments as an antidote to North America's emerging economic problems.

Their belief - naive at the time - was that strong growth in most Asian and Middle Eastern economies, and a lack of exposure to U.S. sub-prime mortgages, would shield clients from the mass layoffs on Wall Street and in London. It was not to be. As the financial crisis dragged on, Japan and Hong Kong have begun to feel the effects of the recession, and heavyweights such as HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse have been pulling back from the region. The situation is no brighter in the Middle East. In Dubai, one indicator of the economic woes is the sheer number of luxury cars abandoned in the airport parking lot - keys still in the ignition.
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Worse yet, that stress is taking a toll on their personal lives, leading to marital problems, instances of domestic violence and increasing abuse of alcohol or drugs. Sharon Ser, a Hong Kong-based lawyer, has seen her calendar fill up early in the year. Divorce queries always pile up in January because couples say to themselves: "I can never go through another holiday like that," she says. This year, however, economic conditions have inflamed the situation. "It's boom time," she says.

Hong Kong is a particularly hard place for an expat worker to lose their job. Expats in that city - a place where finance and glamour go hand in hand - often lead lives of luxury because assignments in the financial sector are usually accompanied by subsidized housing, maids, club memberships and prepaid debentures at international private schools. Taylor says this means the impact of a job loss in the city is more profound than a job loss in one's home country. "If you're Canadian and you lose your job in Canada, you keep your house. You've still got your community because the majority of people will group together." In a city like Hong Kong, losing a job can lead to a dramatic loss in one's standard of living.
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The parts of this article about expat life in Hong Kong are very much on target. But does anyone feel sorry for these people? Perhaps the worst hit of the major financial centers because they are entirely reliant on essentially one product -- privatization of Chinese state owned enterprises -- the pain that follows the loss of privilege in the Hong Kong expat community is now quite a scene. It is an understatement to say that in Hong Kong, "losing a job can lead to a dramatic loss in one's standard of living." The Hongkies have never welcomed foreigners, especially if your skin color is wrong and you do not speak the local vernacular.

Even without the global financial meltdown, the Chinese privatization gravy train would have reached the end of the line. The Chinese transformation from communism to market socialism is complete and there is very little need for these expensive 'bankers' help convince the world to invest in Chinese state controlled institutions. Chinese private companies are overwhelmingly small and the equity deals that are getting done tend to be in the US$5-10 million range rather than the US$500-1,000 million ball park; not enough to sustain the luxurious lifestyle of even one expat never mind an entire team.

Gold Standard · Mar 31, 2009

Quote from mingsphinx:

http://www.financialpost.com/magazine/story.html?id=1422351

The parts of this article about expat life in Hong Kong are very much on target. But does anyone feel sorry for these people? Perhaps the worst hit of the major financial centers because they are entirely reliant on essentially one product -- privatization of Chinese state owned enterprises -- the pain that follows the loss of privilege in the Hong Kong expat community is now quite a scene. It is an understatement to say that in Hong Kong, "losing a job can lead to a dramatic loss in one's standard of living." The Hongkies have never welcomed foreigners, especially if your skin color is wrong and you do not speak the local vernacular.

Even without the global financial meltdown, the Chinese privatization gravy train would have reached the end of the line. The Chinese transformation from communism to market socialism is complete and there is very little need for these expensive 'bankers' help convince the world to invest in Chinese state controlled institutions. Chinese private companies are overwhelmingly small and the equity deals that are getting done tend to be in the US$5-10 million range rather than the US$500-1,000 million ball park; not enough to sustain the luxurious lifestyle of even one expat never mind an entire team.
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I just wanted to say: very well said. Could not have said it better myself. End of tangent.

mingsphinx · Apr 10, 2009

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3e05dab8-249d-11de-9a01-00144feabdc0.html

Only later did the reality sink in. His severance package meant there was no need to sell the substantial Victorian family home or get rid of his daughter's pony. Rather, the hard part was that "you don't realise until it's over, that [your job has] become your purpose in life".
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Now do you feel sorry for these people?

The sense of shame can be debilitating, according to Professor Binna Kandola, a business psychologist. "People almost go into hiding, avoiding eye contact and almost shrinking. These are very powerful social signals that show you're hiding and withdrawing."
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How about now?

mingsphinx · Apr 10, 2009

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090410/FREE/904109973

Parasites want to become entrepreneurs and thieves want to be the government. Trust an ex-Wall Street analyst to believe that he can start a micro-brewery and expect $50 million in sales in just a few years.

Wall Street refugees may find that their experience is of little use in a startup. Investing in long-term goals or sharing knowledge with inexperienced employees is anathema for many star traders or stock pickers, says Ari Kiev, a psychologist who specializes in counseling Wall Streeters. "Their confidence, naivete or arrogance leads them to think that developing a business is easier than it actually is."
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Well said Ari. Next up, we are going to start reading stories about former Wall Streeters who fail repeatedly in business and even though they once made more than a million dollars a year, cannot seem to get even a hot dog stand profitable.

mingsphinx · Apr 15, 2009

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/10/mag...lout.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009041506

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE52N0GB20090324

"As a society, we never show any compassion to the strong, the powerful or the wealthy," she says. "But they need as much compassion as everyone else."
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From a fat chick who wants to bag a needy 'financier'.

The article on bankers going into rehab is nothing new, it happened when times were good too. Except that now they cannot afford to go to the fancy places.

EMRGLOBAL · Apr 15, 2009

It depends on where you are working. If your part of the SHEEP who flocked to the Big Banks and Trading Firms, then you should have known that your Axe was coming sometime.

We raised more money in one week ( 3 million) than we have ever raised in 5 days before. I am an Investment Banker, one of the last standing Private Equity guys in industry that is thriving...Energy.

Our firm is a small firm, not public but private. We have 10 Private Equity Guys who hold a series 22. We fund very high risk ventures and only deal with Private Manufacture Owners, Private Business Owners who have a net worth, not including their home, 5 mil to 100 mil. We are currently developing 11000s acres in the Bakken Shale. We will raise well over 50 million this year alone.

It is not easy. We have to really hunt for the right kind of Risk Taker. But they are buying multiple subscriptions....mulitple shares.. We have guys drop'n 200k to 1 million in our venture.

So, when I read this "Sympothy" article about XYZ on "WallStreet", I shake my head. The storm was coming, those in the Financial Industry, that have a solid understanding of what was coming, should have had an "Exit" plan. Period.

Boiler Room, Wallstreet, Wallstreet Warriors is all fun and games when any monkey can join in on the game.

The Industry was well overbloated.....to many people who had guts but no morality and no glory really. Pushing bad paper, selling Crap to investors. Now they are paying the price....game over. Just like in that stupid show, WallStreet Warriors, then those clown's were pushing SANDISK...and never really spoke about Risk. Most these ass clowns never sold risk. They don't know how. They sold a pipedream. And now America is pissed.

Now its time for the Pros, the true big dogs to rise up and make millions. The weak, the Sheeople in the Financial Industry will not be back.

It's just a game. And if you learn to play the game well enough...Millions come pouring in. But you gota play the right game at the right time. The financial World is full of diffrent games at diffrent times. Learn to play the right ones, at the right times....and the world is yours.

EPrado · Apr 16, 2009

"Boiler Room, Wallstreet, Wallstreet Warriors is all fun and games when any monkey can join in on the game. "

Isn't that when you got into trading? Explains why you didn't last I guess.

Funny how you rip on Investment Bankers, then claim you are one.

Man you talk a big game. YOu know what they say about those who talk a lot.

mingsphinx · Apr 16, 2009

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/from-wall-street-jobs-to-unpaid-internships/

Bloomberg really has some dumb ideas. He belongs to the camp which believes in showing pity to the over privileged. The City will not help the people who are truly struggling and in need but they will go out on a limb to offer assistance to those who have already taken too much.

Compassion for the strong - think about it. The crooks need your sympathy. LetÂ¡Â¯s save these people from having to strip or sell their gay virginity for a living. Use public resources to setup unpaid internships that are suitably chic and glamorous so that the scions of the wealthy can have a place to hang their deflated egos. There are people starving in the five boroughs and this is what Bloomberg cares about.