Short break

As I'll be headed to London shortly to visit the grave of my hero of all heroes, Sir Richard F. Burton, it's a good time to take a couple week break and come back w/new improvements and ideas for the blog and hand signal project.  Burton did a great deal to inspire the trading pit history project as I've read through most of his writings and am continually impressed with the detail of which he documented observations w/new cultures during his extensive travels.  It's my aim to channel some of Burton's talents to take this project to the next level by reflecting upon what he has accomplished.

Just as impressive as Burton are some enthusiast's websites which provide wonderful ideas to present education and knowledge sharing on any project.

The most extensive book on Burton took it's title in part from an Alexander Pope poem which certainly applies to Burton and just as easily applies to the trading mentors I've been fortunate to learn from:

....with pleasures too refined to please,
With too much spirit to be e'er at ease,
With too much quickness ever to be taught,
With too much thinking to have common thought:
You purchase pain with all that joy can give,
And die of nothing but a rage to live

For anyone who is interested in learning more about Burton, I'd suggest to read The Devil Drives as a good introduction.
 

Eurodollar option opening

Pictured above is another photo purchased from the SunTimes archive which was taken at the launch of the eurodollar options contract at the CME.  Given the honor of ringing the opening bell was George Stigler who is a Nobel Prize winning economist at the University of Chicago. 

Eurodollar futures are one of the most actively traded futures contracts but most people don't know the history of their development.  Wikipedia does a nice job explaining how it was a Soviet bank in the 1950s which began the market and you can read about it by clicking here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurodollar 

Handsignals of the Singapore Trading Pits print

Soon to be off to Dan Grzeca for printing is the newest addition to the trading pit history print collection, Hand Signals of the Singapore Trading pits by Mike Nudelman. The Singapore print is based upon handsignals used on the SIMEX floor, renamed SGX, which closed in 2006. Dimensions of this print are the same as the Chicago print at 18" x 24" on heavy stock paper, numbered and signed by the illustrator and we're expecting a run in the 200 range, priced the same at $100/each. They should be available for preorder through the shop shortly but shipping time will be about a month off.

The NY and London prints are also very close to completion and like every print will feature a different color and face. The only female face is featured on the Singapore print because my primary floor broker on SIMEX was a woman.

MATIF hand signal video

Formation MATIF
envoyé par bhaouari. - Regardez plus de films, séries et bandes annonces.

I'm in Paris and will try my damnedest to pick up some handsignals from MATIF whilst here. Above is a video which explains the hand signals and for the first time in my life, I'm regretting skipping so much school because dropping out of French in my sophomore year of high school is hurting now although I understand most of it. I hope to get the video translated to share some insights but the hand signals look very similar to those used on other trading floors, specifically the CBOT. The reason why the CBOT was the basis was hand signals is because MATIF got started with the guidance of the CBOT and I've corresponded w/the gentleman who helped develop signals for MATIF. As for brokerage houses he could only remember a couple, Societe General was a salute ("salute the general") and Credit Lyonnais was a lion claw as (Lyon sounds similar to lion). Not suprisingly the video doesn't list brokerage signals.

Intermarket magazine on function of trading pit

OK so I claimed that I wouldn't share anything from Intermarket magazine but a nice email from a gentleman yesterday where he mentioned how this website helped him understand what his dad did at the CBOT prompted me to upload the following articles. In the first two issues of Intermarket in 1984 a floor trader, using a pen name, wrote two articles on the function of the trading pit. Rather than breed confusion w/my commentary on it, I'll just say it's pretty close but I have a difference of opinion on some details. So this is the only thing I'll upload from Intermarket as I know that I can't distribute the interviews which appeared in the magazine.


Inter Market Floor

Leo Melamed early photo

Leo Melamed is certainly the most photographed participant in the history of the futures industry and below is a photograph I purchased from the archives of the SunTimes. I do believe that it is from his earliest media exposure as it is from a 1967 SunTimes article on Leo and which is the earliest listed story on his website.

Unveiling the Mystery of Trading Hand Gestures

Although I'm unaffiliated with them, I recently wrote an article for the newsletter of the National Introducing Brokers Association regarding the history and use of trading floor hand signals. The article provides a condensed (1000 words) overview on that particular functionality of the trading pits and it is linked below:
Unveiling the Mystery of Trading Hand Gestures