Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets

Editorial Reviews. From Publishers Weekly. Partnoy's previous book, F.I.A.S.C.O., was an Pinterest. Kindle App Ad. Look inside this book. Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets by [Partnoy, Frank .
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Even better, he shows how investment banker antics have affected Main Street inhabitants including yourself. How did Orange County and so many other municipalities get so deeply in trouble?

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I have a Ph. D in business and many finance courses under my belt, but I never quite understood the systemic dangers of the 'financial innovation' that is sweeping our markets. Now that I have, I will sleep much less well at night. Partnoy describes the evolution of exotic instruments and the characters involved in this evolution. He shows you the enabling role played by gatekeepers like accounting firms, law firms, analysts and credit rating agencies.

Even more important, he shows you exactly how the collusion happened and why.


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He gives you both an aerial view of the markets and a down-in-the-trenches description. I often wondered why, in efficient markets, participants voluntarily involved themselves in such convoluted transactions that had high costs in terms of record-keeping and fees. The answer, as Partnoy shows, is that virtually all of these arrangements permit some set of parties to subvert law or regulation or both.

This is true domestically and internationally. He graphically describes how lobbying keeps regulators at bay and the venality and ineffectuality of politicians. The chairperson of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, for example, exempted important parts of Enron's business from regulation and, just weeks later, joined Enron' board. There are many such stories that show exactly how self-serving our legislators and regulatory guardians are.

My quibbles are minor. While Partnoy is clear, his language is colorless. Perhaps his legal background has something to do with this. Given the strength of his material and the depth of his research, he could have made this book a popular bestseller if he had used more forceful colloquial expression. Also, he does not talk at all about the role of technology in this evolving mess. Greedy, incredibly smart bankers have always been with us.

What has permitted them to have this huge impact now is the ability of computers to churn massive amounts of data, pick out the faintest of patterns and keep records of incredibly complex transactions involving dozens of parties over vast stretches of time. This said, this is the best book I have yet come across that explains how and why large scale financial malfeasance happens. And why it is hardly ever punished.

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You will understand why the perpetrators of Enron, Global Crossing, Adelphia, WorldCom, Sunbeam and so many others will walk and hold on to their vast gains. Start praying that there is justice beyond our courts. Frank Partnoy has made an important contribution to understanding our latest fiasco of Wall Street machinations. He knows it so well, because he was a player there, as a derivatives trader, during the formative days of this latest bubble.

Book Review > Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets

He saw it coming He presents his case chronologically It indeed was an economic health disaster, for which Katrina like , there was no medical intervention by government If "greed is good", as Gekko intoned, then everyone wanted to get on the action Partnoy divides his book into three stages of disease: He is very detailed, and names names, as he delves through his post mortem.

He is a clear writer, and relatively concise, considering the amount of specific information he imparts. He's prescient too, in that behavior seems likely to remain unchanged, unless checked by responsible government. And yesterday, as if to confirm it, we have the latest news that 5, investment bankers did indeed receive million dollar plus bonuses, during and after the TARP bailout.


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In the culture of money I also like his ending See all 41 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published on November 19, Published on October 5, Published on May 11, Published on February 17, Published on February 28, I got lost in a few places in regards to who is who and how they were related to some of the institutions.


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And now the book has been read.. Does greed have any limits? I guess not when people want to always have more than the next person. Jan 27, Daniel rated it really liked it. I was concerned in the beginning because i was told that the math was pretty difficult in this book. However if you want to know, what the backs are doing in terms of risk and deceit in the financial marketplace, there is no better book.

Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets by Frank Partnoy

An eyeopener for sure. Think before Enron, before the latest crash. Banks going under, with billions of dollars at risk, changing the marketplace, creating and selling new financial products way ahead of the understanding of traders, CFO's, bank presidents, Wow. Banks going under, with billions of dollars at risk, changing the marketplace, creating and selling new financial products way ahead of the understanding of traders, CFO's, bank presidents, not to mention, us, the stockholders and regular investors.

Mar 24, Paul W rated it liked it Shelves: Partnoy's key argument is that the appearance of control in financial markets is an illusion - the conventional wisdom that the collapse of was unique is wrong and the risk of a systemic collapse is still high p3. He attributes this to three major changes in financial markets p4: While much has been made of the supposed benefits of financial innovation over the last decade, Partnoy argues that it was primarily driven by financial arbitrage and so served no useful purpose as well as contributing to the financial meltdown.

Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets

He reminds us that in January the president of the NY Fed Reserve warned that "the growth and complexity of off-balance sheet activities and the nature of the Accounting standards also come in for criticism. In a criticism that should be the subject of debate today, he argues that it was "twice as expensive for companies to pay their CEOs in stock options as it was to pay them in cash.

Unfortunately there was not much effort by the author or publisher to do either. This meant that the rich material of the FCIC report was barely referred to. Notwithstanding this, Partnoy's book is an engaging, informative and sobering read. Many of the issues he highlights are relevant now as countries try to construct a post financial crisis regulatory environment. A rewarding and recommended read.

Apr 30, Rick rated it liked it Shelves: Took me a while to read this one, but ended up really enjoying it for what it is: This book sets the table well for that episode.

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What I particularly appreciated was that the author named names - no Took me a while to read this one, but ended up really enjoying it for what it is: What I particularly appreciated was that the author named names - not just of CEOs or wrongdoers that were in the public eye, but of the unknown folks who were in the trenches and developed or were suckered by many of the derivative products which became the darling of financiers worldwide. The author can't tell a story as well as Michael Lewis, but he makes up for it through his depth of research.

Partnoy's account of what happened within these companies will send a shiver down the spine of anyone with a humble investment in a unit or investment trust. Web development by Firsty Group. This website requires cookies to provide all of its features. For more information on what data is contained in the cookies, please see our Cookie Notice. To accept cookies from this site, please click the Allow Cookies button below. Add to Wishlist Add to Compare.

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About the book First published in , Infectious Greed examined how our greed-driven culture led to the generation of massive profits, but also to unprecedented levels of risk, widespread deception, and high profile disasters like Enron and Worldcom.