Wheels of Fortune: The History of Speculation from Scandal to RespectabilityAn intriguing history of the futures market and speculation From Jay Gould's attempt to corner the gold market in the 1860s to the Hunt brothers' scandalous efforts to control the silver market in the 1980s, Wheels of Fortune traces the rich, colorful history of the futures market on its quest for respectability and profit. This comprehensive account shows readers why the markets have been grabbing headlines for over 100 years as both respectable economic institutions and hotbeds of gambling activity and scandal. Charles Geisst brings the personalities and strategies behind the futures market and speculation in general to life, against a backdrop of American life that begins prior to the Civil War. |
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Wheels of Fortune: The History of Speculation from Scandal to Respectability Charles R. Geisst No preview available - 2003 |
Wheels of Fortune: The History of Speculation from Scandal to Respectability Charles R. Geisst No preview available - 2002 |
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activities agency agrarian agricultural American amount Angelis bankers banks Baring Brothers bear raids became bond brokers bucket shop bucket shop operators bushel cash CBOE CBOT century CFTC Chicago claimed COMEX Commodity Exchange Commodity Exchange Act Congress corner court currency Cutten deal delivery derivatives markets developed difficult dollar economic farm farmers fiasco finally finance financial futures financial markets firm first floor fund futures contracts futures exchanges futures markets futures prices futures trading gambling gold Grain Futures Grain Futures Act hedge fund hedging Hunts Hutchinson index futures industry inflation interest rates investment investors issue kets LaSalle Street Leo Melamed losses LTCM major Merrill Lynch million NYSE office official onion options markets percent pit traders portfolio positions problem profit quickly regulation reputation result scandal securities sellers Senator short selling silver soybean speculation Stock Exchange stock market swaps tion volatility Wall Street wheat
Popular passages
Page 357 - Richard Hofstadter, The Age of Reform: From Bryan to FDR (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1955), pp.