Day One Trader is the exclusive story of John Sussex on his journey from son of a Basildon factory worker, leaving school at 16, to successful City financier and member of the Liffe board. Providing a unique insight to this competitive and often brutal industry, readers will discover the tactics used by dealers to survive the jungle of the pits in a story that chronicles the floor banter and characters that made Liffe a global derivatives powerhouse. Packed full of exclusive – until now unreported – stories, Day One Trader sheds new light on what motivated characters such as Nick Leeson, and provides insight to Liffe floors star traders. Financial experts and novices alike will be gripped by Sussex’s account of the highs and lows of a career that spanned almost three decades in the history of the financial markets. "The catastrophic events of 2008 prove that the financial world has not learnt the lessons of my own tragic tale. But anyone who thinks that the world of derivatives is just about greedy bankers who put our pensions and savings at risk is wrong. Day One Trader is the gripping chronicle of the unknown working class heroes of the Liffe floor who shattered a glass ceiling of elitism in the City of London and helped build one of the few financial institutions that we can be proud of." — Nick Leeson "John Sussex lived by the mantra of My Word is My Bond. This makes Day One Trader a must read for all traders. Every page brings back a lifetime of trading memories of days that will never be the same." — David Barnett, Global Head of Treasury, Royal Bank of Canada John Sussex, London UK – John′s career spans the very start of the Liffe′s open outcry exchange right through to a screen based exchange and beyond. John was there on the first day that the London International Futures and Options Exchange (Liffe) opened, working with Clara Furse (now Chief Exec of the London Stock Exchange) and teaching David Kyte (now worth $120 million). He traded on Black Monday in 1987, through the explosion of new derivatives products and the boom years of the 90′s. Joe Morgan, London UK – Joe is a journalist currently on sabbatical from Risk Waters. At Risk he interviews senior technologists at investment banks. Prior to this he was a reporter for The Times working on investigative news based features.
Day One Trader: A Liffe Story
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £2.32
Trade in Day One Trader: A Liffe Story for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £2.32, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more
|
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
"Packed full of exclusive – until now unreported – stories...Financial experts and novices alike will be gripped" (HereIsTheCity.com, July 22nd 2009) ‘...grants an insight into the boom days of finance, revealing the tactics needed to survive in this often brutal industry’ . (CEO Middle East, July 2009).
From the Back Cover
"The catastrophic events of 2008 prove that the financial world has not learnt the lessons of my own tragic tale. But anyone who thinks that the world of derivatives is just about greedy bankers who put our pensions and savings at risk is wrong. Day One Trader is the gripping chronicle ofthe unknown working heroes of the Liffe floor who shattered a glass ceiling of elitism in the City of London and helped build one of the few financial institutions that we can be proud of." — Nick Leeson "As I walked into the members entrance of the exchange for the first time on September 30 1982 I felt a buzz of excitement. I had realised my ambition of being a "day–one trader". Inside, the fluorescent lit exchange floor bustled with about three hundred traders in orange, red and blue jackets. A brief opening ceremony was overseen by Gordon Richardson, the governor of the Bank of England, before he cut a white ribbon hanging above a pulpit overlooking the floor. I felt at fever pitch as we counted down the start of trading. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!" The bell rang and I watched a scrum of dealers scramble to trade Liffe′s first ever contracts in a heap of frenetic energy." — From Day One Trader Day One Trader is the exclusive story of John Sussex on his journey from son of a Basildon factory worker, leaving school at 16, to successful City financier and member of the Liffe board. Providing a unique insight to this competitive and often brutal industry, readers will discover the tactics used by dealers to survive the jungle of the pits in a story that chronicles the floor banter and characters that made Liffe a global derivatives powerhouse. Packed full of exclusive – until now unreported – stories, Day One Trader sheds new light on what motivated characters such as Nick Leeson, and provides insight to Liffe floors star traders. Financial experts and novices alike will be gripped by Sussex’s account of the highs and lows of a career that spanned almost three decades in the history of the financial markets. "John Sussex lived by the mantra of My Word is My Bond. This makes Day One Trader a must read for all traders. Every page brings back a lifetime of trading memories of days that will never be the same." —David Barnett, Global Head of Treasury, Royal Bank of Canada "Day One Trader describes a journey through a world that came and went in too short a time. The Liffe floor challenged the status quo in the City of London in the early eighties and was itself killed off by technology in the late nineties. John Sussex was one of the great characters of that world and a man of the utmost integrity." —Richard Berliand J.P. Morgan, Chairman Futures & Options
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Grant Maton
Format:Hardcover
Couldn't put the book down until finished. John Sussex and Joe Morgan have written a book that makes the stories of City LIFFE come alive during the 80s and 90s. I was there and this book reminded me of an era that all to quickly moved on, but was great to be part of!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By M. Debenham
Format:Hardcover
I worked for John and Dicko on the liffe floor. This book brought back some ot the good old times a great read for any one involed in the Liffe floor.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a great book which really tells the story of the Liffe market, just how it was.
I worked for Alan Dickinson, a local who features strongly in this book, & it brought back a lot of memories for me.
It has been almost as though the traders in their coloured jackets have been erased from history - thanks to John Sussex & this book, the history of these markets is now being remembered & hopefully preserved. It should be, it was our lives for so long. It was a major part of the history of the City of London & the financial markets. And if you read this you will probably begin to agree that open outcry was a better, less risky & fairer way to trade than on computer screens.
For about 20 years ordinary people got to work & trade in the city. It didn't matter what school you went to or what level of education you had, you could be a city trader & if you were good enough (by the way, you had to be really good!) you could make it on the floor. Then it all went screen-based. From this book you will see how that brought greater risks & a less liquid market.
The average person who has not worked in these markets may not understand all the jargon, but you will certainly get an insiders view of what it was really like to be there.
This book could have been much longer with more anecdotes & "Liffe stories". I hope that either John writes a sequel or that other Liffe traders write their own version.
I couldn't put it down & I really hope that there is more to follow...
This isn't one of those books about the city that are fiction - this one really tells it just the way it was from someone at the heart of it all, even down to the tricks played on the new clerks.
Well done, John, for taking the time to write this. Most of the guys from the Liffe market are now doing totally different & less well-paid jobs. Really it is easier for them to move on & forget the "good old days", some haven't been able to do that, with terrible consequences.
Read this if you want to know what it was really like to be there in the glory days, but be prepared to be saddened & shocked at what happened to some of the greatest trading talent & the nicest, most honest guys in the city when they were suddenly sold out to the world of computer screen-based trading.
What is in this book is really only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
I worked for Alan Dickinson, a local who features strongly in this book, & it brought back a lot of memories for me.
It has been almost as though the traders in their coloured jackets have been erased from history - thanks to John Sussex & this book, the history of these markets is now being remembered & hopefully preserved. It should be, it was our lives for so long. It was a major part of the history of the City of London & the financial markets. And if you read this you will probably begin to agree that open outcry was a better, less risky & fairer way to trade than on computer screens.
For about 20 years ordinary people got to work & trade in the city. It didn't matter what school you went to or what level of education you had, you could be a city trader & if you were good enough (by the way, you had to be really good!) you could make it on the floor. Then it all went screen-based. From this book you will see how that brought greater risks & a less liquid market.
The average person who has not worked in these markets may not understand all the jargon, but you will certainly get an insiders view of what it was really like to be there.
This book could have been much longer with more anecdotes & "Liffe stories". I hope that either John writes a sequel or that other Liffe traders write their own version.
I couldn't put it down & I really hope that there is more to follow...
This isn't one of those books about the city that are fiction - this one really tells it just the way it was from someone at the heart of it all, even down to the tricks played on the new clerks.
Well done, John, for taking the time to write this. Most of the guys from the Liffe market are now doing totally different & less well-paid jobs. Really it is easier for them to move on & forget the "good old days", some haven't been able to do that, with terrible consequences.
Read this if you want to know what it was really like to be there in the glory days, but be prepared to be saddened & shocked at what happened to some of the greatest trading talent & the nicest, most honest guys in the city when they were suddenly sold out to the world of computer screen-based trading.
What is in this book is really only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
really good book
Nothing ground breakingly new, I've read similar stuff, but a great story to read, and I loved reading it. Read more
Published 7 months ago by JS
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book John!
I left the LIFFE trading floor in late 1997 after 13 years to work in Sydney, Australia,when reading Day One Trader all the memories came flooding back of an amazing time that was... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mkyfutures
5.0 out of 5 stars
happy days
Good read and a lot of forgotten memories came flooding back
John could have included many of the anecdotes that happened on the floor, but that book would have been bigger... Read more
John could have included many of the anecdotes that happened on the floor, but that book would have been bigger... Read more
Published on 6 May 2010 by kevin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well done John
A great book , really captures what it was like to be on the floor.
Published on 4 Dec 2009 by J. Thorpe
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fair, Funny and True!
A compassionate and fair biography of a unique place to work in the city. Exactly as you would expect from this author who conducted himself and his business in exactly the same... Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2009 by A. P. Barber
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book
A thoroughly enjoyable read, giving an entertaining insight into the life of a professional trader.
The author John Sussex was obviously very well respected by the people that... Read more
The author John Sussex was obviously very well respected by the people that... Read more
Published on 25 Sep 2009 by D. A. Hodgson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic if you were there, as good if you weren't
Like the poster above i was there (Bund local) & it brought back some very fond memories of a time that was all too sadly short. Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2009 by Alexander Wilmot
5.0 out of 5 stars
Day One Trader
Superb book, found every page entertaining and insightful about a seminal era in the City of London.
Published on 27 Aug 2009 by Excel_User_in_London
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
