The following figures are as of Dec 07. Any guesses about the % increase in the following figures as of Dec 08 ? Why is NSE equity derivatives turnover 68 times BSE equity derivatives turn over?

Accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny, for what could more aptly fit your needs ? -- Marcus Aurelius

It’s close to 2 years since I read “Black Swan” for the first time. It had a definite effect on me for most of the arguments the author puts forth are very strong. One thing that propelled me in rereading this book was an article by one of my Prof’s who said that the teaching system for MFE courses should radically transform itself for it to have any use in the times to come .

Via Calling in Life (advice to a young banker) : What Wall Street did so well, for so long, was to give people jobs that they could pass off to themselves as well as others as callings. Such was their exalted social and financial status: Wall Street jobs made people feel special without actually having to be special. You never really had to explain why you were doing it – even if you should have.

Econometric theory is like an exquisitely balanced French recipe, spelling out precisely with how many turns to mix the sauce, how many carats of spice to add, and for how many milliseconds to bake the mixture at exactly 474 degrees of temperature. But when the statistical cook turns to raw materials, he finds that hearts of cactus fruit are unavailable, so he substitutes chunks of cantaloupe; where the recipe calls for vermicelli he uses shredded wheat; and he substitutes green garment dye for curry, ping-pong balls for turtle’s eggs and, for Chalifougnac vintage 1883, a can of turpentine.