Synopses & Reviews
and#147;Commodity players are a shrewd andand#160;indomitable lot. And the contracts theyand#160;trade are still so loosely regulated that theand#160;correct combination of money and skilland#160;creates irresistible opportunity. Thatand#8217;s whyand#160;Iand#8217;m only half joking when I call them theand#160;secret club that runs the world.and#8221;
When most people think of the drama of globaland#160;finance, they think of stocks and bonds, ventureand#160;capital, high-tech IPOs, and complex mortgagebackedand#160;securities. But commodities? Crude oil andand#160;soybeans? Copper and wheat? What could be moreand#160;boring?
Thatand#8217;s exactly what the elite commodity tradersand#160;want you to think. They donand#8217;t seek the mediaand#160;spotlight. They donand#8217;t want to be as famous asand#160;Warren Buffett or Bill Gross. Their astonishingand#160;wealth was created in near-total obscurity, becauseand#160;they dwelled either in closely held private companiesand#160;or deep within large banks and corporations,and#160;where commodity profits and losses werenand#8217;tand#160;broken out.
But if the individual participants in the greatand#160;commodities boom of the 2000s went unnoticed,and#160;their impact did not. Over several years the sizeand#160;of the market exploded, and so did prices for rawand#160;materialsand#151;raising serious questions about whetherand#160;the big traders were intentionally jacking up theand#160;cost of gasoline, food, and other essentials boughtand#160;by ordinary people around the world. What wasand#160;really driving all those price spikes?
Now Kate Kelly, the bestselling author ofand#160;Street Fighters, takes us inside this secretive innerand#160;circle that controls so many things we all dependand#160;on. She gets closer than any previous reporter toand#160;understanding these whip-smart, aggressive, andand#160;often egomaniacal men (yes, they are nearly alland#160;men). They work hard, play hard, flaunt theirand#160;wealth, and bet millions every day on a blend ofand#160;facts, analysis, and pure gut instinct.
Kellyand#8217;s narrative focuses on one of the mostand#160;extraordinary periods in financial history. Thoughand#160;the practice of gaming out price changes in commoditiesand#160;goes back to ancient Mesopotamia, it hadand#160;never before reached the extremes of the early toand#160;mid-2000s. Kelly exposes the role of the hedgeand#160;funds, banks, brokers, and regulators in this volatileand#160;market, through fascinating stories of and#147;secretand#160;cluband#8221; members such as . . .
and#160;
- Pierre Andurand, a self-made multimillionaireand#160;who generated the winningest annual performanceand#160;ever for an oil trader in 2008 and hiredand#160;Elton John to perform at his wedding.
- Ivan Glasenberg, whose secretive Swiss commoditiesand#160;giant, Glencore, founded by the infamousand#160;American fugitive Marc Rich, orchestratedand#160;a massive merger with the help of former UKand#160;prime minister Tony Blair.
- Jon Ruggles, a brash know-it-alland#151;recruitedand#160;by Delta Air Lines to revitalize the airlineand#8217;s fuel hedgingand#160;business, he continued to make tradesand#160;in his personal account, a questionable practiceand#160;given his position.
Drawing on her exclusive access to the secret club,and#160;and following the trail from New York to Houston,and#160;London, Dubai, and beyond, Kelly reveals theand#160;immense power in the hands of a few, and theand#160;so-far contentious efforts by the Obama administrationand#160;to rein in the cowboys.
Review
Review
Praise for Kate Kellyand#8217;s
New York Times Bestsellerand#160;
Street Fighters:
and#8220;It overstates nothing to call Kellyand#8217;s book brilliantly reported,and#160;and her narrative is grippingly propulsive and peopled withand#160;fascinatingly drawn characters.and#8221;
and#8212;Los Angeles Times
and#8220;The twists and turns of those frantic few days make forand#160;lively reading.and#8221;
and#8212;The New York Times
and#8220;Kelly takes us inside Bearand#8217;s last, dizzying days. . . .The realand#160;draw is the bookand#8217;s surgical detail.and#8221;
and#8212;Time
and#8220;Thereand#8217;s so much to like in this bookand#8212;lively anecdotes, crispand#160;pacing, and brevity . . . a highly accessible narrative for theand#160;general reader.and#8221;
and#8212;Bloomberg News
Synopsis
The acclaimed New York Times bestseller-updated for the second anniversary of the collapse of Bear Stearns The fall of Bear Stearns in March 2008 set off a wave of global financial turmoil that continues to ripple. How could one of the oldest, most resilient firms on Wall Street go so far astray that it had to be sold at a fire sale price? How could the street fighters who ran Bear so aggressively miscalculate so completely?
Expanding with fresh detail from her acclaimed front-page series in The Wall Street Journal, Kate Kelly captures every sight, sound, and smell of Bear's three final days. She also shows how Bear's top executives descended into civil war as the mortgage crisis began to brew.
Synopsis
The acclaimed New York Times bestseller--an explosive, inside look at the demise of a Wall Street giant The fall of Bear Stearns in March 2008 set off a wave of global financial turmoil that rippled around the world. How could one of the oldest, most resilient firms on Wall Street go so far astray that it had to be sold at a fire sale price? How could the street fighters who ran Bear so aggressively miscalculate so completely?
Expanding with fresh detail from her highly praised front-page series in The Wall Street Journal, reporter Kate Kelly captures every sight, sound, and smell of Bear's three final days. She also shows how Bear's top executives descended into civil war as the mortgage crisis began to brew. A breathtaking piece of US history, Street Fighters is essential reading for anyone looking to understand the 2008 financial crisis--and for understanding how the actions of one Wall Street firm have affected the world to this day.
Synopsis
The acclaimed "New York Times" bestseller is updated for the second anniversary of the collapse of Bear Stearns. Expanding with fresh detail from her acclaimed front-page series in "The Wall Street Journal," Kelly captures every sight, sound, and smell of Bear's three final days.
Synopsis
Nestled deep in the towers of banking and finance are the commodities traders who spend their days gambling with oil, gold, and corn contracts. Theyand#8217;re highly-educated world travelers with a penchant for risk, and theyand#8217;re here to bet big on the future of the raw materials that make our economies hum. Theyand#8217;re very wealthy, barely regulated, and can be a force for tremendous goodand#151;or ill.
Now Kate Kelly, the bestselling author of Street Fighters, shines light not just on the commodities market, but also on some of its key figures. Her characters include Pierre Andurand, a hedge-fund manager who generated the winningest annual performance ever for an oil trader in 2008, and Ivan Glasenberg, whose secretive Swiss commodities giant, Glencore, has been thrown into the spotlight.
Kelly paints a dramatic narrative of immense power in the hands of a few, and the so-far hapless efforts by the Obama Administration to rein in the cowboys.
Synopsis
Thanks to this gripping new book
we know more about how they do it. And its even more shocking than you think.” The Independent When most people think of the drama of global finance, they think of stocks and bonds, venture capital, high-tech IPOs, and complex mortgage-backed securities. But commodities? Crude oil and soybeans? Copper and wheat? What could be more boring?
Thats exactly what the elite commodity traders want you to think. They dont seek the media spotlight. They dont want to be as famous as Warren Buffett or Bill Gross. Their astonishing wealth was created in near-total obscurity, either in closely held private companies or deep within large banks and corporations, where commodity profits and losses werent broken out.
Now Kate Kelly, the bestselling author of Street Fighters, takes us inside this secretive inner circle that controls so many things we all depend on. She gets closer than any previous reporter to understanding these whip-smart, aggressive, and often egomaniacal men who bet millions every day on a blend of facts, analysis, and pure gut instinct.
About the Author
Kate Kelly is a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal and a former reporter for Time magazine and the New York Observer. She attracted international attention for her three-part series of articles on Bear Stearns, which ran on the front pages of The Wall Street Journal in May 2008. This is her first book. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.