The Wall Street culture is portrayed in Liar's Poker as a satirical narrative of the daily activities of tradesmen on Wall Street. He talks about how juvenile they are to each other with fits, yelling, and pranks. Also, the great deception of how almost everyone there has studied financials but they don't practice what they learned in college because there is no need too. He says it's all about "deception" and "exploiting weaknesses" in the other tradesmen to make the most money, hence the title. The trainees fight with each other, the upper level managers only worry about their ego, and everyone in the middle are focused on making the most money the fastest and looking to screw as many as they can in the process. Economic Men is the basic premise of Liar's Poker, except this book is more in-depth, holds nothing back, and is written in a blunt and candid way that most people already view Wall Street. The Wall Street culture is evident everywhere albeit the overwhelming lust for greed and recognition and the will to do so by any means necessary. The deception of people and companies as they are persuaded to by lies, invest and buy bonds and stock are mere pawns in the tradesmen's own quest for glory. Hundreds of millions in America put their trust in banks, retirement, stock market, livlihoods etc. to be insignificant drops in the bucket for 'children' to do as they see fit-ultimately in their own personal favor. When it doesn't go as expected, they get bailed out with tax exemptions and aid from the government, so they survive another day to destroy lives again in few years-ultimately continuing this vicious cycle. Nothing has changed. Nothing will change. At least this book allows those hundreds of millions to laugh about it...
Micheal Lewis's "Liar's Poker" take a cynical look into the lives of trader and stock brokers in the New York Stock Exchange. Much of the focus of the book in on the attitudes of these traders. Throughout the book Lewis make an effort to disband the mythical image of the stock trader as a rational and composed professional, instead showing the bravado and vast egos that go into stock trading. Furthermore, he explains how stock trading is more about manipulating people than predicting the market. Throughout his book Lewis makes an effort to show that the bankers millions of Americans put their trust in every day, are out purely to make a profit at any cost.
The wild, lawless life of a stock broker on Wall Street is best exemplified at the very start of Michael Lewis's "Liar's Poker," where the game the title is named after is described. There is little logic or cunning to be found in this scene where John Meriwether is challenged to a game of liar's poker by CEO John Gutfreund. The stakes: a measly one million dollars. Over a game of sheer chance. Meriwether counters that he'd only play for ten million, but not necessarily because he doesn't fancy his chances of winning, he just doesn't want to beat his boss, it'd be a bad social play. The extreme risk these people take is exemplary of the insanity of Wall Street culture and just how "all or nothing" their mentality is.
"Liar's Poker" mirrors much said about Wall Street culture in Zaloom's article "Economic Men." Throughout the book, Lewis showcases the same qualities in the traders as Zaloom outlined--the reckless bravado and desire to prove themselves, while also taking the whole thing surprisingly seriously for something they regard as a "game." The "liars" in the name "Liar's Poker" is another theme evidenced throughout the book, even going back as far as the author trying to land a first job in trading. The author mentions several times the lies or needing to lie in such a way to get what they want on Wall Street. It really is a game to them, a game of lies, deceit, and manipulation that they all take extremely seriously. Both this book and Zaloom's "Economic Men" show a more realistic depiction of Wall Street trading culture and dispel the myth that stock traders are always rational and what most would consider "professional" although they do have their own usage of the term and are expected to adhere strictly to those rules
The title "Liars Poker" written by Michael Lewis is a perfect self expainatory title used to portray the lifestyle or "game" of Wall Street. Similar to Caitlin Zaloom's Economic Men, Lewis talks about the cut throat lifestyle of a trader. In the book he describes how traders would lie and scheme their way into the most money that they possibly can. The image of a person working in wall street isn't as pretty as new investors think. As new investors are looking to invest and make some quick money, the pretty faces they talk to just look at them as an innocent little kid looking to steal it's candy and they will do it with not a single guilty thought on their mind, it is just another day at work for them.
I honestly don't know why I felt surprised at all after reading Liars Poker. It's been circulated and known for ages that the culture around wall street is rather cut throat and winner take all. However, I was truly shocked to read about the infantile behavior that takes place in many major firms and offices. While the film The Wolf of Wall Street was based on true events I couldn't believe that the behavior exhibited in the film actually existed. While the movie may over animate the extent to how these people act and behave, its still a very similar representation. Lewis goes on to say that these behaviors are a result of time spent on the trading floor/pit. In the pit, you must be loud, obnoxious, and demanding to remain successful. If a trader is successful in the pit they'll likely begin to incorporate the attitudes and behaviors they exhibit there in to their everyday life. I certainly hope for a change in the culture of wall street, or else I feel that another recession could be around the corner.
''Liar's Poker'' is the very funny account of his three-year, dog-eat-dog climb there. Starting as an overpaid $48,000-a-year trainee, Mr. Lewis, by 1987, was on his way to triumph as an institutional bond salesman in Salomon's London office, earning $225,000. This is a story with much irony. One of America's top investment banking and securities trading firms, an adviser to the largest corporations and money managers, unable to run itself.
"Liar's Poker" was a jarring look into the culture of Wall Street trading culture. It describes this this world of aggression where to be successful, you have to be the loudest, the most crass and the most willing to risk it all and then some. It takes an overblown ego to make it in that world, but new investors don't typically start with that type of bravado - it's a learned behavior picked up on the trading floor, where getting the "win" itself means more then the way that you get that win.
Liar’s Poke is comical story about a man with an art history degree who manages to land a job on Wall Street. The Wall Street culture is not much different than what Zaloom describes in Economic Men where the floor is full of profanity and yelling. On his first day, one man described the trading floor as being a “jungle” and that he must learn from his “jungle leader” to survive. These traders aren’t rational and professional like one might think they should be, but they are brash and manipulative. They are constantly fooling around, making fun of one another, and treating the trading process as one big game.
In this chapter Lewis tells various stories about the mortgage bond market from 1981-1986. In 1979 interest rate float, rates went up and banks who loaned out mortgages start losing money. To benefit from from a government tax break, these banks start to sell their mortgages with the intention to suffer losses. The supply for mortgage bonds increased and so did trading. Salomon had one of the only well staffed mortgage trading teams so it made huge profits. New traders such as Lewis Ranieri are brought on and they develop new ideas, like analyzing which low yield mortgage loans are likely to see prepayment and buying them at low prices. As time goes on many Solomon traders begin to feel that they are underpaid for the amount of money they make for the company and they start to get bought out by competitors.
Liar's Poker focuses on the kind of dumb luck — or luck more related to born status than smarts — and illustrates the sheer madness of the Wall Street trading floor. The toxic environment the author describes economic men making in the novel lines up with what we've learned about the irrational behavior typical of capitalist traders and brokers. The overwhelming greed is evident throughout the novel, and the men justify their behavior throughout because they believe the trading floor necessitates irrational behavior. I think that's the biggest thing i've noticed in the novel, that irrational behavior is NECESSITATED in order to compete with other people on the floor.
On the web, Bitcoin is democratic, open-sourceful, and generates value. The commons share a part of public owenership, and there was no resource to state authority during the 90's. Superindulgent American politcs and modern financial history led the salomon brother to know more aout bonds than any firms on Wall Street. They knew how to trade and value them; and in 1979 junkbonds were only a tiny fraction of the entire bond market. Bond traders make their money by taking large risks on wallstreet; alot of traders act as toll takers.
The Wall Street culture is portrayed in Liar's Poker as a satirical narrative of the daily activities of tradesmen on Wall Street. He talks about how juvenile they are to each other with fits, yelling, and pranks. Also, the great deception of how almost everyone there has studied financials but they don't practice what they learned in college because there is no need too. He says it's all about "deception" and "exploiting weaknesses" in the other tradesmen to make the most money, hence the title. The trainees fight with each other, the upper level managers only worry about their ego, and everyone in the middle are focused on making the most money the fastest and looking to screw as many as they can in the process. Economic Men is the basic premise of Liar's Poker, except this book is more in-depth, holds nothing back, and is written in a blunt and candid way that most people already view Wall Street. The Wall Street culture is evident everywhere albeit the overwhelming lust for greed and recognition and the will to do so by any means necessary. The deception of people and companies as they are persuaded to by lies, invest and buy bonds and stock are mere pawns in the tradesmen's own quest for glory. Hundreds of millions in America put their trust in banks, retirement, stock market, livlihoods etc. to be insignificant drops in the bucket for 'children' to do as they see fit-ultimately in their own personal favor. When it doesn't go as expected, they get bailed out with tax exemptions and aid from the government, so they survive another day to destroy lives again in few years-ultimately continuing this vicious cycle. Nothing has changed. Nothing will change. At least this book allows those hundreds of millions to laugh about it...
ReplyDeleteMicheal Lewis's "Liar's Poker" take a cynical look into the lives of trader and stock brokers in the New York Stock Exchange. Much of the focus of the book in on the attitudes of these traders. Throughout the book Lewis make an effort to disband the mythical image of the stock trader as a rational and composed professional, instead showing the bravado and vast egos that go into stock trading. Furthermore, he explains how stock trading is more about manipulating people than predicting the market. Throughout his book Lewis makes an effort to show that the bankers millions of Americans put their trust in every day, are out purely to make a profit at any cost.
ReplyDeleteThe wild, lawless life of a stock broker on Wall Street is best exemplified at the very start of Michael Lewis's "Liar's Poker," where the game the title is named after is described. There is little logic or cunning to be found in this scene where John Meriwether is challenged to a game of liar's poker by CEO John Gutfreund. The stakes: a measly one million dollars. Over a game of sheer chance. Meriwether counters that he'd only play for ten million, but not necessarily because he doesn't fancy his chances of winning, he just doesn't want to beat his boss, it'd be a bad social play. The extreme risk these people take is exemplary of the insanity of Wall Street culture and just how "all or nothing" their mentality is.
ReplyDelete"Liar's Poker" mirrors much said about Wall Street culture in Zaloom's article "Economic Men." Throughout the book, Lewis showcases the same qualities in the traders as Zaloom outlined--the reckless bravado and desire to prove themselves, while also taking the whole thing surprisingly seriously for something they regard as a "game." The "liars" in the name "Liar's Poker" is another theme evidenced throughout the book, even going back as far as the author trying to land a first job in trading. The author mentions several times the lies or needing to lie in such a way to get what they want on Wall Street. It really is a game to them, a game of lies, deceit, and manipulation that they all take extremely seriously. Both this book and Zaloom's "Economic Men" show a more realistic depiction of Wall Street trading culture and dispel the myth that stock traders are always rational and what most would consider "professional" although they do have their own usage of the term and are expected to adhere strictly to those rules
ReplyDeleteThe title "Liars Poker" written by Michael Lewis is a perfect self expainatory title used to portray the lifestyle or "game" of Wall Street. Similar to Caitlin Zaloom's Economic Men, Lewis talks about the cut throat lifestyle of a trader. In the book he describes how traders would lie and scheme their way into the most money that they possibly can. The image of a person working in wall street isn't as pretty as new investors think. As new investors are looking to invest and make some quick money, the pretty faces they talk to just look at them as an innocent little kid looking to steal it's candy and they will do it with not a single guilty thought on their mind, it is just another day at work for them.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know why I felt surprised at all after reading Liars Poker. It's been circulated and known for ages that the culture around wall street is rather cut throat and winner take all. However, I was truly shocked to read about the infantile behavior that takes place in many major firms and offices. While the film The Wolf of Wall Street was based on true events I couldn't believe that the behavior exhibited in the film actually existed. While the movie may over animate the extent to how these people act and behave, its still a very similar representation. Lewis goes on to say that these behaviors are a result of time spent on the trading floor/pit. In the pit, you must be loud, obnoxious, and demanding to remain successful. If a trader is successful in the pit they'll likely begin to incorporate the attitudes and behaviors they exhibit there in to their everyday life. I certainly hope for a change in the culture of wall street, or else I feel that another recession could be around the corner.
ReplyDelete''Liar's Poker'' is the very funny account of his three-year, dog-eat-dog climb there. Starting as an overpaid $48,000-a-year trainee, Mr. Lewis, by 1987, was on his way to triumph as an institutional bond salesman in Salomon's London office, earning $225,000. This is a story with much irony. One of America's top investment banking and securities trading firms, an adviser to the largest corporations and money managers, unable to run itself.
ReplyDelete"Liar's Poker" was a jarring look into the culture of Wall Street trading culture. It describes this this world of aggression where to be successful, you have to be the loudest, the most crass and the most willing to risk it all and then some. It takes an overblown ego to make it in that world, but new investors don't typically start with that type of bravado - it's a learned behavior picked up on the trading floor, where getting the "win" itself means more then the way that you get that win.
ReplyDeleteLiar’s Poke is comical story about a man with an art history degree who manages to land a job on Wall Street. The Wall Street culture is not much different than what Zaloom describes in Economic Men where the floor is full of profanity and yelling. On his first day, one man described the trading floor as being a “jungle” and that he must learn from his “jungle leader” to survive. These traders aren’t rational and professional like one might think they should be, but they are brash and manipulative. They are constantly fooling around, making fun of one another, and treating the trading process as one big game.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn this chapter Lewis tells various stories about the mortgage bond market from 1981-1986. In 1979 interest rate float, rates went up and banks who loaned out mortgages start losing money. To benefit from from a government tax break, these banks start to sell their mortgages with the intention to suffer losses. The supply for mortgage bonds increased and so did trading. Salomon had one of the only well staffed mortgage trading teams so it made huge profits. New traders such as Lewis Ranieri are brought on and they develop new ideas, like analyzing which low yield mortgage loans are likely to see prepayment and buying them at low prices. As time goes on many Solomon traders begin to feel that they are underpaid for the amount of money they make for the company and they start to get bought out by competitors.
ReplyDeleteLiar's Poker focuses on the kind of dumb luck — or luck more related to born status than smarts — and illustrates the sheer madness of the Wall Street trading floor. The toxic environment the author describes economic men making in the novel lines up with what we've learned about the irrational behavior typical of capitalist traders and brokers. The overwhelming greed is evident throughout the novel, and the men justify their behavior throughout because they believe the trading floor necessitates irrational behavior. I think that's the biggest thing i've noticed in the novel, that irrational behavior is NECESSITATED in order to compete with other people on the floor.
ReplyDeleteOn the web, Bitcoin is democratic, open-sourceful, and generates value. The commons share a part of public owenership, and there was no resource to state authority during the 90's.
ReplyDeleteSuperindulgent American politcs and modern financial history led the salomon brother to know more aout bonds than any firms on Wall Street. They knew how to trade and value them; and in 1979 junkbonds were only a tiny fraction of the entire bond market. Bond traders make their money by taking large risks on wallstreet; alot of traders act as toll takers.