Leg the Spread: A Woman′s Adventures Inside the Trillion–Dollar Boys′ Club of Commodities Trading - Hardcover

Cari Lynn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1841126640 ISBN 13: 9781841126647

Publisher: Capstone, 2005

Synopsis

Stepping on to the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for the first time was a terrifying experience for Cari Lynn; it was a minefield of flailing arms, rampant sexism and knife-edge deals and the stress levels meant it could blow up at any moment. As an Exchange clerk Lynn learned the pitfalls and triumphs of the markets up close, gaining an insight into the larger than life personalities of her trader colleagues and what it's like to be the loan female in a testosterone fuelled trading pit. Leg The Spread celebrates the hard-hitting, resourceful women who are making it big in business - outwitting and out-earning their male counterparts regardless of the glass ceiling. From Alaina, who bares her midriff and records her trades with a pink pom pom pen, but is known to throw a punch to get the trade she wants, to Bev, who hustles billions of dollars in contracts everyday with a sway over the market so great that major players like Goldman Sachs refuse to trade if she's not in the pit, we meet gutsy female traders who embrace the adrenaline rush of fast paced money making while proving themselves daily in the midst of the ultimate boy's club.

About this title

Review:

“...exhilaratimg stuff, filled with anecdotes and facts that show the human cost of this unque workplace...” (BA Business Life, June 05) – the in–flight magazine for British Airways.

From the Back Cover:

"rip-roaring& larger-than-life characters, high-stakes risk-taking, and excess in all its forms."
The Economist
In the Futures market, it's all about minimizing risk and maximizing your wallet. Buying something gives you one leg, but you've got to sell something to get the other leg. If you can come full-circle, and you've got two legs to stand on, that's your spread. This takes expertise and guts, and it shouldn't matter whether you're male or femalebut it does. It's a man's world in trading and it takes a strong stomach, a thick skin and plenty of grit for a woman to get ahead.
". . . nowhere is quite like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The Merc is capitalism's rottweiller, . . the motto is kill or be killed . . By Lynn's telling each trading session resembles a boisterous night out with routine punch-ups, awful language, gambling and illicit sex."
The Daily Telegraph
"funny, fast-paced . . . .a thrill-ride . . exhilarating and addictive . . . .like reliving those experiences"
Elle readers
"A sexy, adrenalized, very cool book that is a lesson as well as a pleasure"
James McManus, author of Positively Fifth Street
"A swashbuckling adventure in the heart of Chicago that should not be missed& Cari Lynn takes you inside the crash-and-burn world of the Merc', a baptism by fire where the good old boys' club is invaded by girls who with humour, guts, and acumen get even by getting rich."
Gail Evans, author of Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman and She Wins, You Win
"Cari Lynn's vivid descriptions make you feel as if you're right there with her in the frenzied mélange of the trading pits. If you're a woman considering a career anywhere near stocks and trading, this is one book you have to read first."
Lois P.Frankel, author of Nice Girls Don't Get The Corner Office

About this edition

• Publisher: Capstone
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1841126640
• ISBN 13: 9781841126647
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 324