Traders Guns and Money / Mastering Financial Calculator [Paperback]

Satyajit Das (Author), Bob Steiner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 16, 2007

Traders, Guns and Money 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. Mastering Financial Calculations The lastest edition of mastering financial Calculations is the definitive guide to explaining key financial concepts and mathematical techniques in a clear and comprehensive manner. New to this edition is its coverage on recent developments in financial instruments, with fully updated explanations on mastering the essential calculations and financial techniques behind the money markets. Plus discussions on interest rates and currency swaps, foreign exchange and cash flow analysis. W hether you are a trader, fund manager, corporate treasurer, risk manager, or market student, this book gives you the knowledge to manipulate and apply these techniques with speed and confidence.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Traders, Guns & Money is very fresh history, just two years old. Das picks apart the new machinery of the mega-trillion-dollar derivatives market, the one economists say might be next to collapse on our heads. And I'm with him, I really am. The guy has a thing for ridiculous puns and also for pitiable characters. We meet a couple of noodle makers who wreck their company on a deal no one but Das seems to understand. But by the end of his book, you'll get the deal too, I promise.” – All Things Considered, NPR, October 15, 2008

“WHETHER you are an investor, an observer of financial markets, or even an investment professional, Satyajit Das's Traders, Guns & Money should prove an entertaining, eye-opening read. –The Business Times, Singapore, September 27, 2008

“With the financial crisis tightening its chokehold on global banks, Das' forewarnings - outlined in his 2006 book Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and Unknowns in the Dazzling World of Derivatives - are looking rather timely. Still, some in the industry initially scoffed at his warnings.” – The Toronto Star, September 23, 2008

"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

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Financial Times Prentice Hall; Package ed edition (August 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0273714546
• ISBN-13: 978-0273714545
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,925,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Satyajit Das is an internationally respected expert in finance, with over 30 years' experience. He worked for the "sell side" (banks such as Citicorp Investment Bank and Merrill Lynch), the "buy side" (Treasurer of the TNT Group) and acted as a consultant advising banks, investors, corporations and central banks throughout the world. He has been within touching distance of many of the pivotal events in finance during his long career.

Das presciently anticipated many aspects of the Global Financial Crisis in his 2006 book Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and Unknowns in the Dazzling World of Derivatives In a speech that year - The Coming Credit Crash - he argued that: "an informed analysis of the structured credit markets shows that risk is not better spread but more leveraged and (arguably) more concentrated amongst hedge funds and a small group of dealers. This does not improve the overall stability and security of the financial system but exposes it to increased risk of a "crash" during a credit downturn." He has continued to be a respected commentator on developments in the crisis, accurately anticipating many subsequent phases.

He was featured in Charles Ferguson's 2010 Oscar winning documentary Inside Job and a 2009 BBC TV documentary - Tricks with Risk.

Das is the author of many highly regarded books on derivatives and risk management, which are regarded as standard reference works for professional traders. In 2006, he published the international best seller Traders, Guns & Money, a satirical insider's account of derivatives trading. The Financial Times described it as explaining "not only the high-minded theory behind the business and its various products but the sometimes sordid reality of the industry".

His latest book is Extreme Money: The Masters of the Universe and the Cult of Risk (2011) described by Nouriel Roubini as: "A true insider's devastating analysis of the financial alchemy of the last 30 years and its destructive consequences. With his intimate first-hand knowledge, Das takes a knife to global finance and financiers to reveal its inner workings without fear or favor."

He appears regularly in the media in the US, Canada, UK, Australian, New Zealand, India and South Africa. His opinion pieces appear in prestigious publications throughout the world including the Financial Times. His blogs can be found on a number of on-line financial sites, including www.wilmott.com, www.roubini.com, www.minyanville.com, www.eurointelligence.com, www.nakedcapitalism.com and www.prudentbear.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for finance majors, November 17, 2006

By 

Joe Kolman (Jackson Heights, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and unknowns in the dazzling world of derivatives (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.

84 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The starting point to the world of derivatives, September 22, 2007

By 

Chris Jaronsky (NJ, the garden state) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and unknowns in the dazzling world of derivatives (Paperback)

"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.

63 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A double agent's account of his life as a spy, January 9, 2007

By 

Valeri Pushnya (London-Moscow) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and unknowns in the dazzling world of derivatives (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?