Thursday, Jun 25, 2009
Too much, too soon
Guardian: Return of the gravy train – did the crash really change the City at all?
From the crowded bars of Canary Wharf to the corporate hospitality village at Wimbledon, memories are fading fast. Less than a year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers brought the banking system to its knees, London's financial community is shaking itself down and getting back to the business of making money. "We are like goldfish," says Jon Macintosh, a Mayfair hedge-fund manager. "We swim once around our bowl and when we complete the circle everything looks new."
In the offices of Goldman Sachs staff have been briefed to expect one of its most profitable years ever.
Posted by devo @ 08:54 AM (1778 views) Add Comment
25 Comments
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1. bellwether said...
Come on Devo admit it you are secretly excited that Flash was recently posting.
2. Bear said...
The bailouts gave more moral hazard, reinforcing behavior, I'm afraid that we haven't seen the last of the reckless behavior, once again, strap yourselves in,
3. devo said...
That's right, bellwether.
The collapse of the global economic system is of secondary importance.
4. inbreda said...
like goldfish?
more like dogs on heat IMO.
5. charlie brooker said...
Sharks not goldish.
6. charlie brooker said...
Here's the defintion of psychopathy. In the article look down "Hare's items" and you'll see just how well these bankers fit the definition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy
Its time for a clear out.
7. george monsoon said...
Charlie, the whole financial establishment is headed by out and out sociopaths.
Think of your average city banker, check out the definition of a sociopath on the web and see if they fit the bill..
8. george monsoon said...
Charlie, the whole financial establishment is headed by out and out sociopaths.
Think of your average city banker, check out the definition of a sociopath on the web and see if they fit the bill..
9. bystander said...
Charlie brooker good find. I partcularly agree with the glibness and superficial charm, most investment bankers and traders I have met fit almost all these criteria. Anyone catch that programme about being a hedge fund manager, taking novices off the street and giving them the chance of working in the industry? One commentby the guy who ran the fund at the introductory briefing describes the work ethic and morals of this "proffession". He asked if any of the candidates had a problem 'stabbing someone in the back' to secure a deal and if they did the might as well leave now. Says it all really. These people won't change because even if thy new how they woldn't because they are always right.
10. bystander said...
Sorry about the spelling, my fingers are too big for this mobile key pad.
11. happy mondays said...
Why are'nt these guy's in the military or more so mercenaries, in fact that's a good opportunity to rid ourselves of these vermin, also fight world terror ( if that's what it is ) then bring home all the fathers to sons, sons to fathers, daughters to mothers, mothers to daughters...It would not be such a great loss if bankers (All the thieving gutless ones ) were coming home in the body bags..
I saw on the news last night that some banker, who is now suffering from depression has gone on the run, with 2 shotguns!! Nice..
12. george monsoon said...
I recently carried out a lot of research on sociopathic behaviour, and was surprised to find that it accounts for about 4% of the population, or 1 in every 25 people.. That is scary... if you are in a room with 25 people, statistically, one of them is quite possibly a banker.
:O)
Sociopathic traits - unredeemably shallow, no remorse, no concience, no empathy. They can lie without missing a heartbeat and have only one purpose in life.. their own selfish gain, either sexual or financial, but will charm and seduce victims into parting with their cash before moving on... sound familiar?
Now... the solution to the banking problem isn't in a bailout package... it is dopamine, which will temporarily give these sociopathic bankers a concience and empathy...
13. nomad said...
Devo, read the Rolling Stone article you posted earlier - brilliant!
12 months ago I wouldn't have got past two pages but now, with it all gradually reaching the mainstream press, it's good to see it in complete form. We've all read about the Goldman Sachs people in all the big positions in the US, what about over here - are there any? And it was obvious early on that Lehmans was selected to go down.
So all this finite Fiat money has been sifted out for GS partners and their friends so now there is not a lot left to go round the rest of us. But what are they doing with it? Not buying property I trust, so where is the money going? Sooner rather than later it will be back in circulation.
14. icarus said...
They talk about "the need to repair Britain's battered public finances" and in the next breath "banks are being encouraged to take big risks again because they know that the taxpayer will always bail them out". This has been cobbled together.
15. letthemfall said...
george m
I recall a programme about psychopaths and how surprisingly common they are; not the axe-murdering variety but those who exhibit little or no emotion and do not respond to or recognise emotion in others. We could have some fun here and pick our favourite candidates for socio/psychopaths amongst the contributors here. Anyone think any hpcers fit the bill?
16. doomwatch said...
The problem with the media (TV, hacks etc), is they think all City workers are either "bankers" or "traders", forever
lost in the sterotype of some 80s over-paid, pin-striped Essex tw at driving around in a 911. Those guys were brokers, and those days are thankfully coming to an end. Expect a lot of repos in Chelmsford.
The City is a harsh place to be right now, and will get worse
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8116906.stm
17. contrails are not a conspiracy (formerly npnh) said...
george monsoon said... “if you are in a room with 25 people, statistically, one of them is quite possibly a banker”
That reminds me of a Tommy Cooper line:
Apparently, 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. There are 5 people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's either my Mum or my Dad, or my older brother Colin, or my younger brother Ho-Cha-Chu. But I think it's Colin.
18. denzil said...
It's exactly the behaviour you get when you know the poor old tax payer will pay to clear up the mess.
Aggressive head-hunting has been going on for the last few months or so. I was staggered when my brother-in-law informed me he had been head-hunted by a Japanese bank in the city who offered him a 45% pay raise and very attractive bonus package.
Sometimes you just have to pinch yourself just to confirm it is not all a dream.
19. george monsoon said...
Contrails.. lol...
Letthemfall @ 14 .. Not so sure about these guys, and it would be dangerous to point the finger at anyone anyway.
Most of the "non violent" sociopaths will elevate themselves to positions of power, because they have no morals or concience to hold them back. they will use, lie, cheat and con their way into power.
Its just a hunch, but I would expect that if you held a huge party for all the world leaders, banking heads, top business bods, polliticians and such like, the ratio of 1 in 25 would drop significantly...
20. letthemfall said...
george m
Yes, I've come across one or two myself, characterised by extremely modest abilities but an overweening ambition
21. charlie brooker said...
george monsoon
You learn something new everyday. I didn't know dopamine had that effect.
In one of my Clarkson moments today I was savouring the prospect of adding a dash of GBL to a bankers drink but now I think dopamine might be a better idea.
What if we all did it? Hundreds of us at HPC turning up in the City and Canary Wharf to surreptitiously squirt overdoses of dopmine in banker's drinks - to watch them all turn a bunch of tearful sissy empaths unable to return to their desks!
We might actually solve the crisis in an afternoon.
22. mr g said...
Wunch of bankers!
23. layers said...
Very interesting that you've realised that 4% are psycopaths - not sociopaths please as that waters down the reaction. Now, politicians also demonstrate this exact profile. Would you like to know more? If yes, check out sott.net and andrew lobochezyk's work - can't spell his surname, but he wrote political ponerology and cross with Gurdjieff. Else, sleep tight ;-)
24. layers said...
GM@25 - I think you mean increase significantly - 3.75 to 1, and according to loboczyjky (I really can't spell his surname!), 'they'learnd to recognise each other at a very young age and know that they're different to the rest - chilling in its implications.
25. quiet guy said...
Regarding Nomad's comment @13, what happened to devo's posting about Goldman Sachs yesterday? Either I'm going a bit blind or devo's post has been pulled from the blog which I find a little surprising.