The Secret Club That Runs the World: Inside the Fraternity of

The Secret Club That Runs the World: Inside the Fraternity of Commodity Traders
â€œCommodity players are a shrewd andÂ indomitable lot. And the contracts theyÂ trade are still so loosely regulated that theÂ correct combination of money and skillÂ creates irresistible opportunity. Thatâ€™s whyÂ Iâ€™m only half joking when I call them theÂ secret club that runs the world.â€

When most people think of the drama of globalÂ finance, they think of stocks and bonds, ventureÂ capital, high-tech IPOs, and complex mortgagebackedÂ securities. But commodities? Crude oil andÂ soybeans? Copper and wheat? What could be moreÂ boring?

Thatâ€™s exactly what the elite commodity tradersÂ want you to think. They donâ€™t seek the mediaÂ spotlight. They donâ€™t want to be as famous asÂ Warren Buffett or Bill Gross. Their astonishingÂ wealth was created in near-total obscurity, becauseÂ they dwelled either in closely held private companiesÂ or deep within large banks and corporations,Â where commodity profits and losses werenâ€™tÂ broken out.

But if the individual participants in the greatÂ commodities boom of the 2000s went unnoticed,Â their impact did not. Over several years the sizeÂ of the market exploded, and so did prices for rawÂ materialsâ€”raising serious questions about whetherÂ the big traders were intentionally jacking up theÂ cost of gasoline, food, and other essentials boughtÂ by ordinary people around the world. What wasÂ really driving all those price spikes?

Now Kate Kelly, the bestselling author ofÂ Street Fighters, takes us inside this secretive innerÂ circle that controls so many things we all dependÂ on. She gets closer than any previous reporter toÂ understanding these whip-smart, aggressive, andÂ often egomaniacal men (yes, they are nearly allÂ men). They work hard, play hard, flaunt theirÂ wealth, and bet millions every day on a blend ofÂ facts, analysis, and pure gut instinct.

Kellyâ€™s narrative focuses on one of the mostÂ extraordinary periods in financial history. ThoughÂ the practice of gaming out price changes in commoditiesÂ goes back to ancient Mesopotamia, it hadÂ never before reached the extremes of the early toÂ mid-2000s. Kelly exposes the role of the hedgeÂ funds, banks, brokers, and regulators in this volatileÂ market, through fascinating stories of â€œsecretÂ clubâ€ members such as . . .
Â
- Pierre Andurand, a self-made multimillionaireÂ who generated the winningest annual performanceÂ ever for an oil trader in 2008 and hiredÂ Elton John to perform at his wedding.
- Ivan Glasenberg, whose secretive Swiss commoditiesÂ giant, Glencore, founded by the infamousÂ American fugitive Marc Rich, orchestratedÂ a massive merger with the help of former UKÂ prime minister Tony Blair.
- Jon Ruggles, a brash know-it-allâ€”recruitedÂ by Delta Air Lines to revitalize the airlineâ€™s fuel hedgingÂ business, he continued to make tradesÂ in his personal account, a questionable practiceÂ given his position.
Drawing on her exclusive access to the secret club,Â and following the trail from New York to Houston,Â London, Dubai, and beyond, Kelly reveals theÂ immense power in the hands of a few, and theÂ so-far contentious efforts by the Obama administrationÂ to rein in the cowboys.
Country USA
Manufacturer Portfolio
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2014-06-03
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Portfolio
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2014-06-03
Format	Kindle eBook

The Secret Club That Runs the World: Inside the Fraternity of Commodity Traders

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