A MILLION A MINUTE

Inside the MEGA-MONEY, HIGH-TECH World of Traders

Hillary Davis

A Million A Minute brings to light a world rarely seen by the public and shatters the many myths and misconceptions that swirl around the trading community.

Traders are free-market warriors on the front lines, closest to the money, the lightning rod for huge international investment flows. Armed with tools developed from advances in computers, information technology, and communications they are moving billions and billions of dollars every day into the world's markets at a speed and volume never seen or imagined before. They make the world's money go round.

This is a candid account that spans the beginning of the rise of traders, the challenges they face working in today's fast-paced markets, and takes the reader towards a vision of the electronic future. Hillary Davis draws on first-hand interviews with the great traders and rising stars in London and Wall Street, providing a unique insight into how they think and work. Trading requires incredible mental gymnastics. It takes excellent timing, a feel for the market, an ability to withstand high levels of stress and keep a cool head, excellence on every level and then some. There's a higher percentage of losers compared to winners in the trading world than in almost any other business.

Contrary to popular belief, traders are a highly trained, sophisticated group manoeuvering in intensely competitive markets where they have to react to an ever-changing chaotic world. It takes special people to make a lot of money consistently. Some are visionaries, some have become legends. Some are post-modern statesmen on the world stage like George Soros, while others have gone on to run art galleries. Some are world-champion bridge players, devoted blackjack junkies, noted philanthropists, and authors of science-fiction. Some are sitting in jail.

Traders' collective decisions have an unprecedented influence on the world economy and determine the prices of everything that affects our everyday lives. What the trader does with this newfound power has become a subject of concern and deserves to be understood, because while vested interests fear them and many don't understand them, they are integral to the entire capitalist system. Here, the reader is given the special opportunity to see from the inside through top traders' eyes. Leo Melamed, Michael Bloomberg, Muriel Siebert, Bob Mnuchin, David Shaw, Stanley Shopkorn, Eric Sheinberg, Bill Johnston and Gary Lapayover among many others explain the crucial turning points and events in their markets, and offer their views on what the future holds.

This insider's account of the rise of traders into the financial establishment confirms their influence on the future. Their power is eclipsing that of the old-boy network that ruled the financial markets for so long. A Million A Minute offers readers the opportunity to know traders as people and Hillary Davis reveals what they are like, how they live, and most importantly, exactly what it is they do.

Hillary Davis trades on the Internet from her home. While working at Baring Brothers in London managing US equity portfolios for their clients, she actively traded stocks for discretionary accounts as well as investing long term. Extensive access to key traders in New York and London, coupled with a degree in International Economics from Columbia University in New York and a Master of Philosophy in International Relations from Cambridge University, allows her to bring a unique background and insight into the world of traders, their markets, and their lifestyles.