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Reversal Fridays and Credit Card Roulette

Written by David Neubert

Friday, 08 June 2007

In the late nineties, when I was running the New York program, trading at Morgan Stanley, we called days like today "Reversal Friday."

Fridays were the days we usually were busy playing credit card roulette to decide who would have to pay for the order-in Friday lunch. Imagine forty traders, sales people and researchers putting forty credit cards in a box. Someone would draw them out one at a time. The process usually took half an hour. The last card out bought lunch. Imagine your lunch was either free or $300-$1200. I have to give our little group of capitalists credit for socialism. What was purchased for lunch depended on your rank.

Operations Assistants: Cheese pizza
Associates and Vice Presidents: Burgers
Principals: Ribs
Managing Directors: Steaks from The Palm

After a full week with four days in the same direction, Friday is usually the day that reverses the trend. Why? Because of speculators covering trend-following positions and mutual funds-getting positions before Monday when they have to start a new week of trading ideas. If today had followed the trend, that would have meant something. The fact that today reversed the trend is just normal - I can't read anything into it.

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written by Davis Freeberg , June 12, 2007

That was a great story, I want to hear more about the late nineties. The biggest bill I've ever been stiffed is $70, but I've never played high stakes credit card roulette.

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written by support08 , February 11, 2008

Haha, something I have to try with some friends. Bar tab roulette.

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written by support08 , February 11, 2008

Roulette

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