Call It Like I See It

It's just data latency. It can wait.

2009-02-28T09:57:00.000-08:00

Actually it can't, 'cos we've been dancing around this issue long enough, and I don't know if I can continue to cover for your (trade position) group anymore, without getting my head bitten off by MO. We've had a dozen latency issues in the last 30 days, and it's starting to feel like there are another dozen waiting for us in coming weeks. And I'm running out of convincing explanations for large

Will the real Technologist pls stand up?

2009-02-16T11:33:00.000-08:00

If you are a real Technologist and not merely playing one in meetings, you need to be truthful, not merely optimistic, when facing a sky-high expectation that's so disconnected from reality, like we can parachute a tool onto trader desks ahead of an already aggressive schedule. When traders are misguided to believe they were merely docking the team’s damn allowance, somebody has to straighten

As learning curve bites

2009-02-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

The impulse at the moment is to either retreat into spreadsheets, which is fanned by traders who are reluctant to trade short term speed bumps for faster long term trade flows. Or we can ride out the curve with sturdy training wheels, and with the same kind of commitment we expect from every new initiative, cos if we have to put the brakes on every book migration because of occasional delays and

Steering committee strikes again... NOT

2009-02-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

The potential of our newly unwrapped risk system is real, but the danger of losing its coherence at an early stage is just as real if a steering committee was installed now. Aiming for one risk system that fits all trading products, a committee could easily end up cobbling together too many features that don't fit together, and the resulting (dead) weight would shoot down any real opportunity

MISC: Telemarketing

2006-04-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

via RD - Trust me, it's harder being a telemarketer than hearing from one. I called a home once, and a little girl picked up. I asked to speak to her parents, but instead was given a tour of her house. "I see a book, a flower, a doggy ." Eventually, her father took the phone, allowing me to recite my pitch. "Hi. I'm calling from ABC Telephone Company. How much do you pay for long

RANT: Talk like a Wall Streeter

2006-04-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

via Vault -- I wonder if the analysts in my group have figured out that when I say: "I want to make sure we are on the same page", what I am really saying is: "I am about to explain to you what you just did wrong, because I am too nice to blatantly tell you that you just f'd up and are wasting my time" "Hey, Mr analyst, just wanted to touch base. I circled up with the partner, so wanted

MISC: Before You Present - Dos & Don'ts

2006-04-21T07:01:00.000-07:00

via RD - We were discussing the "don'ts" of public speaking in the PR class I teach. "Don'ts" include a man reaching into his pant pocket and jangling change as he speaks, which is very distracting. To illustrate my point, I asked for a student volunteer, saying, "I need a man with coins in his pocket." What I got was a girl yelling out, "Honey, so do I!" Category: C++ Quant > Random

MISC: Worry that too many open accounts can lower your credit score

2006-04-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

One remedy is to use less of your available credit. Even if you pay off your balance every month, try to avoid using more than 50 percent of your limit on any one credit card. - INGDirect Category: C++ Quant > Random Walk > Personal Finance

MISC: Upgrade your Memory with Imagination, Association and Location

2006-04-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

via MindTool - By coding language and numbers in striking images, you can reliably code both information and the structure of information. You can then easily recall these later. You can do the following things to make your mnemonics more memorable: Use positive, pleasant images. Your brain often blocks out unpleasant ones Use vivid, colorful, sense-laden images - these are easier to

RANT: If you work with a slacker collegue

2006-04-19T05:57:00.000-07:00

via BusinessWeek - I speak to a lot of employee groups, and the folks in the audience always have terrific workplace questions. There's one question that comes up in almost every group, and everyone laughs when it does, but it's almost impossible for me to answer it on the spot. The question is: "What do you do about a co-worker who goofs off all the time?" When I get that question, I

TIP: The best time to look for a job is

2006-04-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

When you already have one, according to eFinancialCareers. A lot of people are asleep at the wheel and they wait until it's too late, and then the call me. Often it's their last day on the job... it's more difficult to market a person effectively in such situations. On top of that, Geller says, approaching recruiters when you aren't necessarily seeking a new job allows you and the

TIP: Traits that get you hired And promoted

2006-04-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

via AskMen - In this excerpt from Jack Welch's Winning, the former head of GE takes you through his 4-E (and 1-P) framework for hiring and promoting personnel. The 4-E framework took years for me to solidify. No doubt other people have other frameworks that work very well in building winning teams. But I've found this one was consistently effective, year after year, across businesses and

MISC: New Lease, same worries

2006-04-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

Things to check before you sign the lease Apartment What utility bills are included in the rent: heat, hot water? (most likey you will be responsible for are telephone, cable, gas and electricity.) What are typical bill amounts in different seasons? Does the building have a super or some sort of arrangement for repairs? Does it cost extra? Do the windows open? Does the fridge/

MISC: Pipe dream or reality - making millions a year as a regular employee?

2006-04-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

TraderDaily's list of the highest earning Wall Street traders Mark McGoldrick, $40 million - $50 million, Goldman Sachs $30 million - $40 million Raanan Agus, Goldman Sachs Ken Karl, UBS Boaz Weinstein, Deutsche Bank Category: C++ Quant > Random Walk

Q&A: #define and Templates

2006-04-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

What's wrong with this macro: #define square(x) x*x ? Answer: What if x is 1+2 ( could be fixed with (x)*(x) ) ++a where a is an int. Use templates instead. template inline const T& square(const T& x) { return x*x; } Category: C++ Quant > Technology > C++

TIP: Can Success be its own downfall?

2006-04-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

It's the cycle of things,ccckim blogged. Start ups are hungry and have nothing to lose, no long term strategy, no stock holders, no one to answer to. If they fail they are small and agile enough to quickly and easily transform into something else. Eventually they build a better mouse trap and the world does in fact beat a path to their door. They get rich, but they also get fat. More

MISC: "Did you sign up yet?"

2006-04-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

To the co-workers who have to walk the entire department, cube by cube, to make sure everyone signed up for the happy hour, here is a hint: If I haven't done it after 3 e-mails, I've already made up my mind. Category: C++ Quant > Random Walk

Q&A: Are listed futures default free?

2006-04-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

Answer : Yes, as the clearinghouse of the futures exchange is interposed between buyers and sellers in every futures. The net futures position of the clearinghouse is zero since the clearinghouse acts as buyer to every seller and seller to every buyer, all of its long positions are balanced by short positions. it is highly capitalized and backed by large credit lines Bonus Points

MISC: The Living Dead

2006-04-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

EquityPrivate blogged - Sell Side Managing Director (age: 53): "What you have to understand is that companies are not static. They are dynamic. They shift and move. They pulsate with the beat of the economy. They consume, they respirate, they are alive. Living things." Private Equity Associate (age: 26): "Maybe some companies, not this one." Category: C++ Quant > Random Walk >

TIP: Job Specialization - opportunity or trap?

2006-04-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

Best selling author George Monbiot offers career advice... be wary of following the careers advice your college gives you. In journalism school, for example, students are routinely instructed that, though they may wish to write about development issues in Latin America, in order to achieve the necessary qualifications and experience they must first spend at least three years working for a local

MISC: Strucutred Finance/Securitization, Corporate Finance and Project Finance

2006-04-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

Vault.Forum - I'm considering working in a securitized products group at DB (ABS or CMBS) this summer... Is the pay at the higher levels comparable to that in banking? Also, exit opps? I hear that most people stick with securitization work, but if I wanted to leave after the summer (or just didn't get an offer), where would the skills I learn be transferrable? Banking, research, trading?

TIP: Make Millions in 30 minutes or Less

2006-03-31T08:40:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I saw Elton John in concert in Indianapolis, Robert May blogged... The next day, there was a tv show about him on some educational network (he was being interviewed in front of a bunch of musicians), and someone asked him how long it took him to write "Your Song." He said about 30 minutes. That song has made him millions of dollars. For 30 minutes worth of work. Or,

RANT: Enslaved by our carry-on items and independence

2006-03-30T07:50:00.000-08:00

via WashingtonPost - Slogging around with a backpack, a notebook and a bottle of water, you stop for a while and stare at the historic black-and-white photographs in the National Museum of American History. You know, the ones depicting Americans going about their everyday lives: folks waiting for District trolley cars circa 1900, for instance, or people crisscrossing Pennsylvania Avenue in

TIP: Edutainment - why fun should be taken seriously

2006-03-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

Bestseller author Kathy Sierra blogged about learning techniques. Some of my favorites are Get past the brain's crap filter... to the brain, a dry, dull, academic explanation is definitely CRAP (regardless of how much your mind cares about the topic)...Learners are not "empty vessels" waiting to be filled with content pushed into it by an expert, blogger, author, etc. Learning is

TIP: Stop the cheating traders before they stop you

2006-03-28T07:36:00.000-08:00

Wilmott.Forums - ...99% of the trader are honest hard workig individuals. but bad apples do exist. they try to manipulate the trading systems, booking erroneous trades, mis-marking volatility curves... how (and if) it is possible to create a systematic process or a set of checks to minimize such cheating... There are no people who can be shown to be higher risk than others, because if