Stumbled on these videos on Youtube and thought you guys (especially those on FX desks) would get a kick out of it. With all the turmoil in our industry lately I’ve been hearing a few “Man, I sometimes wish we were in the 80s” kinda groans going around so, for all the FX monkeys wishing they were born a few decades earlier, here’s what it was like.

Barclays didn’t pay commission, it was pretty much all tape reading/price action plays, and traders woke up at 6am. Wait, what? 6 A.M.? WTF???

Videos after the jump.

I realize that the BBC’s HARDtalk is supposed to be an in-your-face, pseudo debate/interview program but the least they could do is have hosts who actually know what they’re talking about.

Kyle Bass on the other hand knows his shit cold, and on the show last Friday the subprime superstar didn’t hold back on taking down Sara Montague’s accusive, somewhat insulting rhetoric and absolutely decimated her absurdly sensationalist arguments. All that while giving one of the most succinct explanations I have ever heard on what happened during the crisis, what led to it, CDS's, the current plight of Japan, Germany, the future of the EU, guns, gold, and his supposedly “highly fortified” fort in Texas. Truly great stuff.

People should learn not to dick around with someone who looks like Tony Soprano.

Videos after the jump.

Call him what you will; weird, creepy, the Dark Lord Xenu, but Bridgewater Chief Ray Dalio knows what the f*ck he’s doing. His Daily Observations newsletter is read by practically everyone who is anyone on the Street (does anybody here get it by the way?) and as far as Bridgewater’s performance is concerned, their Pure Alpha fund is already up 25%, perhaps en route to eclipse last year’s mind-blowing performance of 38% – no easy task when you’re running the biggest fund in hedge fund land.

So yeah, while it may be tremendously hilarious to rib the cult of Dalio on their distinct “culture”, it’s also a pretty good idea to listen to what the man has to say.

Here he is at Bloomberg’s 50 most influential summit talking about correlating bets in your portfolio, debt, his current macro view, and essentially how the machine works. It’s pretty good stuff and considering that it paints a pretty decent picture of how the man thinks; it’s well worth your time.

Video after the jump.

Thieving scumbag Bernie Madoff has inspired quite a few movies so far, from c-list dramas that will never earn a single cent to a high budget HBO biopic with De Niro cast as the thief himself. While it’s a little too early to judge the latter (bit worried that De Niro’s political stance would mess things up), this docu-drama that came out last week looks pretty decent.

I don't really follow Bloomberg’s risk takers series since I couldn't quite relate with most of the people they profile but last night they had an excellent piece on someone I know we all couldn't get enough of: Subprime genius Dr. Michael Burry.

As I said, it’s pretty good. It takes you from his first stock analysis way back when he was still in high school, to his misadventures in med school (he fell asleep during an operation because of his all-night stock blogging), to him launching Scion, and then all the way to subprime along with all the trials and tribulations he had to face along the way. It also has a few anecdotes about him from Michael Lewis and one of his analysts (bit confused here, always thought the dude was a one-man army) as well as a couple snippets from his investor letters. His investing style? It's in there too.

Check it out after the jump.

We’re almost midway through the summer and while some are out there taking it easy, I know there are more than a few monkeys here who are still struggling. Some of you may not have your SA gigs yet or maybe the gmat score you've been aiming for is still eluding you, well, here are a few stories from Steve Jobs that might help you through your troubles.

Sure, he’s not Wall Street and some of his stories might not relate to you at all, but his message is pretty clear and it applies to everyone:

Live, Fail, Never Settle, and to Follow your dreams.

Words to live by fellow monkeys, just like PTJ, Rockefeller, Carnegie, and other great men, Steve was never afraid to fail carving his own path in life and he never let the trials and tribulations on the way there get to him – and you little monkey, despite what you might think, you shouldn’t as well.

Anyway, before I start getting ahead of myself, ladies and gentlemen, our man of the hour; Steve Jobs:

Or the EMU for that matter?

PIMCO’s Balls was on Bloomberg earlier today and he highlighted most of the obstructions Greece is facing in their crisis.

Honestly I just feel bad for the Greeks, they’ve been enduring hefty austerity measures just to avoid default and yet, I see no way out of this for them outside of it. Practically every proposed solution fits the S&P’s definitions of default, and even if they didn’t, a debt rollover might piss off Ireland and the ECB itself isn’t even allowed to participate in it.

As I’ve said before, I particularly enjoy watching documentaries and this old one I found has got to be one of the best I’ve seen so far.

Chronicling the conquests of the infamous Clermont Club members, Adam Smith’s The Mayfair Set sheds light on the rise of arms dealing, private military forces, and the ascension of the corporate raider.

If you want to be the next Adnan Kashoggi, that’s in the first episode.

For us though I’ll be posting the third, which follows Sir James Goldsmith’s arrival in America, just in time for Reagan to deregulate the markets and for Michael Milken to reinvent junk bonds.

Not only does it take you through his first takeover, it gives you glimpses of all the players from that era; from the rise of Drexel Burnham Lambert to how Boesky’s operation looked like.

Hell, it even has footage of the infamous predator’s ball.

Episode 4 has footage from Black Wednesday, including Soros trying to act like he wasn’t stoked on killing the pound. Pretty awesome stuff.

Anyway, videos after the jump.

I’m a huge fan of Jim Rogers. I think he’s one of the most honest investors out there, always with his heart on his sleeve, never hesitating to let the world know what he thinks, and he always backs it up with intelligent, precise analysis. Sure, there are a lot of better traders out there and he admittedly doesn’t know jack shit about options, but ignoring what he has to say is as foolish as believing everything the Ben Bernank is saying.

He’s been taking a lot of flak lately though, with people saying he’s become way too bullish on China and in Commodities that he can't see what’s really going on anymore. Well, he got the chance to defend himself last week on BBC’s Hard Talk, and thanks to an annoying, absurdly sensationalist interviewer, things got a little interesting.

They spar about him being on the China Kool-aid, on his long and short positions, ratings agencies, how he thinks oil will end up years from now, environmental issues, Glencore, and currencies. He almost said shit too so it’s pretty good stuff.

Video after the jump.

China, the world’s second largest economy and one of the scariest places on earth to drive in. After years of ridiculous growth and prosperity, figures coming out of the nation have not been so good; a rising CPI has forced the Mandarins to raise rates five times this year, PMI has been falling more than expected, and their transition to a consumer economy has been having setbacks with falling imports.

China bulls say that this is nothing, a minor setback to the grand scheme, but long–time bear Jim Chanos thinks otherwise; he argues that all the remaining growth in the region is in their bubbling real estate and construction sector, and that a slowdown there might Snowball into something far worse:

Is he just distorting his short or is he right on the money? I just feel he's been talking way too much about it lately.

Video after the jump.

So, another Monday’s about to end and if you’re like me, I bet you’d rather kick back and forget some of the stress and melancholia it usually brings.

My usual habit, if I’m not in front of the TV, is to grab a book and maybe a few drinks but I’ve been on a documentary binge lately and thought some of you monkeys would find some interesting so, here’s a few…

Here’s a short documentary to end the weekend; chronicling the discovery and use of the Black-Scholes model from its infancy to LTCM’s collapse, this BBC production sheds some light into the minds of the academics who pursued it, the traders who loathed and then praised them, and how it changed the way options are being traded ever since.

The first few parts are a bit dragging though, somewhat over-dramaticized, and the narrator made me sleepy but all in all its pretty good stuff.

Videos after the jump.

John Paulson made $5 billion, Wall Street profits are up, and pay is set to go off the roof.

Cue the Huffington Post.

Enter the shocked, aggrieved, and grossly affronted liberal masses.

Alright angry bald guy from the Huff Post, Wall Street and its denizens do not contribute “a single iota of productive addition nor economic benefit to the economy,” you and your ilk have made that opinion quite clear.

And shucks, that was some solid small talk socialist Suzie, we really should be more sensitive to those who don’t work and strive for the better. It’s so clear to me now; the answer really is more free stuff for them out of my own pocket, the world would be such a better place then.

Yeah, that's it alright. Most of us here on WSO despise all these affronts to capitalism; we’ve argued endlessly over new policies; their benefits and their impairments, ranging from taxes, healthcare, to railroads.

One thing however that we miss that Main Street loves to hone in to is value.

Alright then, can anybody here see things their way and explain to me how socialism truly adds value?

Thought you monkeys would find this interesting; here's the notorious and abso-fucking-lutely legendary Corporate Raider Sir James Goldsmith on the Charlie Rose Show back in 1994. He attests that GATT (now the WTO), would lead to a major crisis worldwide, while former Clinton adviser (now Obama's?) Dr. Laura Tyson argues that not only will there be blue skies and chirping birds, but that it'll be a huge benefit for the U.S. and the rest of the world.

Watch how he tears her apart.

This leads me to think though; financiers and big business have always been labeled the villain, yet it's these advisers and the government's themselves who have done far worse economic crimes with their countless fumbles and corruptive politics.

So who really knows more about economics?

The business world?

Or the Government?

Actually, what I'm asking is, who would you trust in that regard?

Last time I trusted the government was... Errrr... Ummm.... Vids after the jump.