Enron : the smartest guys in the room is good, but it is clearly infused with the makers liberal (and anti-bush ) sentiments and some clear misunderstandings of the markets the interview with the one trader where he talks about arbitrage (and completely does not undertand it's implications) is telling also, the movie tries to make it look like gray davis was kicked out and arnold elected because of the energy issue that was enron's fault, not davis' they never even mentioned (and as polls overwhelmingly showed), that it was the driver's licenses for illegal immigrants issue, and stuff like that that did davis in. it was not the energy crises. but the arbitrage issue is the most telling. clearly a movie made by people who have very little understanding of the markets a wonderful movie nonetheless i think the movie's ultimate theme was about hubris, and that is a story older than the greeks
Ugly Americans - Ben Mezrich Same guy that wrote Bringing Down The House about the MIT teams and casinos. I loved this story about working the Japanese markets - mostly Nikkei - in the 90s. Unforgettable characters - Leeson, Jett, and all kinds of gaijin yahoos and scumbags. Somehow it feels like these guys are back again. Vaporetto 13 by Robert Girardi Set in Venice before the Euro changeover, it's quite an eerie story about an insomniac American FX trader sent to Italy to game a trade based on the outcome of an election. Author obviously knew that type of trading, insomnia, and tourists towns or got some help from someone who did. Unsettling. Both probably 5$ used on Amazon these days.
Yes, you are correct on this...I caught these points also. That trader's understanding of arbitrage is seriously lacking....something along the line of, "...an opportunity to make outrageous profits...". The other documentary I mentioned... "The Corporation"... also has a liberal slant. I almost didn't buy it just because Michael Moore was in it. Looking beyond the liberal slant, I found both these documentaries entertaining. Linus
Quick Silver Messenger Service??............with Kevin Bacon and Paul Rodriguez. Kevin Bacon shorts a stock that receives a buy-out offer. He blows out and then becomes a bicycle messenger to earn a grubstake to get back into trading again. It has some good moments.
yea, linus. the arbitrage thing was typical in two respects first of all, the credulous way the documentery maker just accepted this guys definition of arbitrage without even CURSORY research to fact check the claim. there are a lot things that are debatable and/or he said/she said that it is tougher to do this. but when u are talking something that is purely definitional, it is atrocious journalism (or documentary filmmaking) not to get yer basic facts straight i mean, they made a point that this was not "a movie about accounting", but if you are trying to make a movie that documents arguably the greatest financial fraud in US History, it would behoove you to have at least ONE guy on your staff to review your movie for blatant factual errors. i've seen some great documentaries in recent years, but it is just abundantly clear when a documentarian is making a political screed that he tries to hide as a documetnary. Michael Moore is immensely talented and props to him, but he is just , to borrow a McCain;ism "disingenuous" to put it mildly. and i totally agree about rounders. i've said over and over that trading is more importantly about risk control, money managment etc. than just stock picking. poker players, who have NO choice in "picking" - ie they play the cards they are dealt understand this. in a purely random game, some people win consistenyl over and over again. some of those guys would make great traders here's another movie related to trading (and the math behind it) Pi Pi is a great movie
how about, Groundhog Day Day in and day out you wake up with a losing position , it's de ja vu all over again... sorry couldn't help, sometimes it feels like it. Any movies that you'd want to see to get a spirits boost when in a drawdown rut?
very funny movie. I got the link by email. I think this movie is destined to become as imp as wallstreet! check it out and give the kid a break. good stuff. --RS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXzxI40JzlI&search=stock