[...]... a rat-like cunning for spotting an opportunity to make some easy money Their victims are often left cursing their ‘bad luck’ while they find themselves looking for a nine-to-five desk job elsewhere A bank trading desk is not always the most friendly place to work either ‘If you want a friend, buy a dog,’ did not become a classic 12 | JOHN SUSSEX WITH JOE MORGAN Wall Street expression for nothing One trainee... completely ignored by the bond trader he was shadowing It would be three months before the trader asked him to do anything apart from sending him on errands to buy coffee or junk food ‘I have to pop out for half an hour If anybody calls, make sure you quote a two-tick market in five million,’ ordered the bond trader before leaving the fresh-faced trainee to wait nervously by the telephone After five minutes the... market There were about 60 immaculately dressed traders The stock brokers wore black pinstripe three-piece suits, with ties neatly folded Some money brokers were dressed a little more casually in two-piece suits White shirts were mandatory The office itself looked like it had not been given a makeover since the sixties Sunlight poured in though old-fashioned sash windows on to a bare space which would... offer prices to make a last-minute check on what was trading Bid and offer numbers represented prices at which other traders were willing to buy (bid) or sell (offer) futures contracts Everyone appeared to be buying sevens What looked like the last seven available was being offered by a red-jacketed dealer standing just five feet away ‘Buy one, ’ I shouted ‘Sold!’ I had just done my first trade! ‘Who are... After my first day s visit to the floor I was told a few war stories from the pits A trader who suffered a heart attack on the floor had been left to die while everyone kept on trading Before the floor observer had summoned medical help some dealers had even stuffed cards with fictitious trades into the stricken man’s pockets Unsurprisingly, physical confrontations were a frequent occurrence In one incident... million-dollar trades which ran through the firm’s books like confetti While it was a joy to work in such a fast paced environment I never lost sight of the fact that I was walking a tightrope every day Make one mistake as a trader and it could easily be your last I saw this for myself first hand when a gangling lad a couple of years older than me called Gordon got an order the wrong way round one lunch... As I walked into the members’ entrance of the exchange for the first time on 30 September 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 300 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... 1982 until the exchange was sold to Euronext nearly twenty years later During that period I was a day one trader , a local in the pits, ran my own brokerage company, served on the pit and floor committees, served on the Liffe Board and acted as deputy Chairman of the Automated Markets Advisory Group that helped build the electronic platform that they trade on today There are no pseudonyms in this book:... up the badge of my red jacket before 18 | JOHN SUSSEX WITH JOE MORGAN receiving a thumbs-up to acknowledge the trade After double-checking to confirm that I had paid seven for one contract I got to grips with scribbling details of the trade on to my dealing card while trying to stay on my feet in the crammed pit The market was now trading at seven bid One at eight,’ I shouted at the top of my voice,... exchange opened the need to get hundreds of traders on to the floor meant it was quite easy to pass the exams A knock-on effect of this was to give people like myself who had left school at 16 a shot at being successful traders Some would grab this chance Hugh on the other hand had already made enough money to retire in Bermuda for a year He had come a long way from his days as a school teacher before he got . of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sussex, John, 1958– Day one trader : a Liffe story / John Sussex, with Joe Morgan. p. cm. ISBN 97 8-0 -4 7 0-7 417 3-3 (cloth) 1. Sussex, John, 1958– 2 Title. HG5435.5.S87A3 2009 332.64'57092–dc22 [B] 20090 13324 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 97 8-0 -4 7 0-7 417 3-3 (HB) Set in 10.5 on 15 pt Sabon by SNP Best-set. class="bi x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" DAY ONE TRADER A LIFFE STORY John Sussex WITH JOE MORGAN A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication ★★★ ★★ Published in 2009 Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons