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

?I had been in derivatives for over 25 years. Many traders hadn't been born when I stumbled accidentally into the arcane world of derivatives trading. The Indonesians were at the fag end of that career. How did I get there? I had followed the money. I had ridden the tide and currents of financial markets. I had not known very much then. Even now I only knew the many unknowns. How did I get here? It was a very long story. Send Traders, Guns and Money is that story?..?

Warren Buffet once labelled derivatives ?financial weapons of mass destruction?. Unlike the military kind, financial WMD are not hard to find.? Many great companies use them.? These businesses use derivatives to make money or protect them from risk. It?s a simple case of greed or fear.? Or is it?

In derivatives, whoever you are, there are things that you don?t know that you don?t know. These are the real risks of derivatives. They?re generally left to the client to discover.?? So, if you?re entering the dazzling world of derivatives, ask yourself this: What do I know? What do I need to know? What don?t I know? What am I doing?

You can find the answers in Traders, Guns & Money, a sensational and controversial first-person account of the business of derivatives trading and the financial products industry in the spirit of Liar?s Poker.? It is a true insider?s view of the business of trading and marketing derivatives for a living.? It details the nature of the business, the players, how money is made and lost, and the deceptions that underlie the entire process.

Funny and poignant, and written in a wry and wickedly comic style, the book provides the ordinary reader with an insight into the seeming madness that underlies financial markets and the out-of-control process that is trading in complex financial products that few understand.

Traders, Guns & Money ?throws light on the culture, games, and pure deceptions played out every day in trading rooms around the world, and played out with other people?s money.? It describes the processes by which a small group of gifted, if avaricious, individuals parlay their knowledge of the arcane world of financial products into wealth, leaving shareholders, clients, regulators, and the tax paying ordinary public to bear most of the risk.

This is the story of how one set of clients discovered the perils of unknowns in a derivatives deal.? This tale will leave you amazed, and this book will make it all clear.In the sometimes dazzling world of derivatives, Traders Guns & Money shows you how we got here and tells it how it is. Go on, follow the money.

An accessible companion and a wise counsel, Traders, Guns & Money weaves together three core themes:

Known unkowns: if you?re entering the dazzling world of derivatives, ask yourself this:? What do I know? What do I need to know? What don?t I know? What am I doing? This book will make it all clear.

Follow the money: an insider?s, expert witness account of the rise and rules of the world of derivatives.? This book will show you how we got here and tell it how it is

Send traders guns & money:? the story of how one set of clients discovered the perils of unknowns in a derivatives deal .? This tale will leave you amazed, but wiser.

"Ever since Warren Buffett memorably described derivatives as "financial weapons of mass destruction" there has been a thriller waiting to be written about them.? Derivatives have frightened otherwise right-thinking people for some time. In part this reflects a natural tendency to fear what we do not understand."? Financial Times

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  • From: Amazon
  • Posted: Jun-14-2009

Good parts, poor parts

This book is really two, rather disimmilar, halves. I suspect that the kind of audience that would enjoy each half would be different too.First, it is worth noting that Das is very knowledgeable about derivatives, not only in a marketing, but also a technical sense. He has written a series of...

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  • From: Amazon
  • Posted: Apr-26-2009

Derivatives: Outsourcing Our Brains

"In 1998, I was talking to the head of trading for a bank. 'Thank God for the Asian crisis,' he said. I expressed surprise. The bank had lost over $1 billion, blaiming the collapse of Asian markets. 'You have no idea what we were able to write-off,' he said with a broad grin."Satyajit Das'...

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  • From: Amazon
  • Posted: Apr-18-2009

Fun & informative reading

As a former derivatives trader in emerging markets I can tell that Traders, Guns & Money is an accurate description of what goes on between derivatives' salespersons and companies' treasuries. The recent events in the financial markets make this book required reading to understand how companies,...

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  • From: Amazon
  • Posted: Mar-17-2009

Traders, Guns & Money

Realistic, precise explanation of what derivatives are all about.Excellent reading for the layman and professional alike.

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  • From: Amazon
  • Posted: Feb-01-2009

Best insider's story on derivatives world I've ever seen!

"Traders, Guns & Money" is the best insider's story on the complex, excessive and breathtaking world of derivatives I've ever seen. And I know what I'm talking about as for last 3 years I'm working as FX/MM Derivatives Sales in global banks and investment companies in Russia.Must Read for anyone...

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  • From: Amazon
  • Posted: Jan-18-2009

derivatives come alive

i particularly like this book effort to unlock the mystery of structured products that have flourish over the last 15 years. If you have any need to know why structured products are not beneficial for the individual investor then this books for you. As a retail financial advisor this books...

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  • From: Amazon
  • Posted: Jan-07-2009

Unknown unknowns

As gripping as a mystery novel but as informative as a text book. The author keeps you turning the page with stories from the sell side and the buy side of derivatives.A must read for any finance student!

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  • From: Amazon
  • Posted: Dec-26-2008

Traders, guns, and money

Reads like a 007 license to steal novel. I thought I knew something about how money moves around.

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  • From: Amazon
  • Posted: Dec-22-2008

Rumsfeldian "Unknown Unknowns" and Steven Mallory's "drooling beast"

Das starts off with a seemingly improbable story of an Indonesian Noodle maker trying to extricate itself out of currency swaps gone awry. He ends with an hilarious Gridiron style roast of the Rogue Trader. But between these irreverential pages one may find renewed respect for financial risk...

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  • From: Amazon
  • Posted: Dec-10-2008

What audience is this book for?

I can save you a lot of time by summarizing the book. Derivatives are crazy complex. The customers don't understand them. The sellers are con men.Now imagine your long-winded, boring uncle. He's telling that same story over and over again. And, to render it duller, he gives no real details...

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