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bloodyfool0's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Quite an interesting story. The main talking points I have is why did Tom Hayes suffer (along with others), when many many more were doing the same things, but got away with it? Was he really conspiring to defraud or was he taking advantage of a loophole in the setting of Libor rates?
It is difficult to understand why regulators aren't blamed for not regulating. I think this is the main flaw in the system, not the trader so much. It is hard to believe there is no consistency. Some bankers get bailed out in the billions for such manipulation of CDOs but others do not. Something amiss here.
The book details the life of Tom Hayes who suffers from asperger's syndrome and who is a math genius probably hasn't a clue what he done wrong. Why can't we use talents like his for other purposes?
It is difficult to understand why regulators aren't blamed for not regulating. I think this is the main flaw in the system, not the trader so much. It is hard to believe there is no consistency. Some bankers get bailed out in the billions for such manipulation of CDOs but others do not. Something amiss here.
The book details the life of Tom Hayes who suffers from asperger's syndrome and who is a math genius probably hasn't a clue what he done wrong. Why can't we use talents like his for other purposes?
danleland's review against another edition
4.0
Was mesmerize for the first 2/3rds of this book but then it bogged down. I do recommend it, great insight and info
martinezcorno's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I have read in years, and to think I did not know it was based on a real life story until I was finished!
antireading's review against another edition
Bored out of my mind, wish it would have picked up but it feels like we're just talking in circles
aprilalwayswithabook's review against another edition
3.0
I think I'm tapped out on white collar crime - I got so bored by what should have been interesting, and I don't know if it was the cadence of the writing or the narrator but I just couldn't .... care.
jaipal's review against another edition
4.0
This book can be categorised into four parts. The first introduces the reader to LIBOR, the reason for it and how it came to be.
The seconds part introduces the reader to Tom Hayes, who was a trader at UBS. It showed us the lifestyle of Tom and his colleagues while they were working for the bank. It also provided details on how they manipulated LIBOR so they could make money (and lots of it).
The third part of the book tells how the LIBOR fixing unraveled and the banks were quick to distance themselves from any systemic wrong doing, pinning it on a few rogue traders, such as Tom Hayes. It details the investigation by journalists, lawyers and the authorities that led to charges to be filed against banks and selected traders (the scapegoats).
The fourth and final part describes the court case between the authorities and Tom Hayes and to a lesser extent the other traders.
I found this book to be interesting and it cements the idea that the banks only care about profits. They will do anything, even bend the rules, for them to make money. The book is good for those who want to know about LIBOR fixing and the people involved. Some parts of it can be dry and difficult to read while other chapters are captivating.
The seconds part introduces the reader to Tom Hayes, who was a trader at UBS. It showed us the lifestyle of Tom and his colleagues while they were working for the bank. It also provided details on how they manipulated LIBOR so they could make money (and lots of it).
The third part of the book tells how the LIBOR fixing unraveled and the banks were quick to distance themselves from any systemic wrong doing, pinning it on a few rogue traders, such as Tom Hayes. It details the investigation by journalists, lawyers and the authorities that led to charges to be filed against banks and selected traders (the scapegoats).
The fourth and final part describes the court case between the authorities and Tom Hayes and to a lesser extent the other traders.
I found this book to be interesting and it cements the idea that the banks only care about profits. They will do anything, even bend the rules, for them to make money. The book is good for those who want to know about LIBOR fixing and the people involved. Some parts of it can be dry and difficult to read while other chapters are captivating.
librarytech4's review against another edition
2.0
This book wasn’t bad, I just couldn’t get interested in it. It is very dense with financial vocabulary and I think that cause me to not be able to understand a lot of it.