Word: hall
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...fact, much of Hall's ability to produce outsized profits for Citi comes from the creative ways he had found to make money off the oil markets, doing things that would either be impossible for the average small trader or that most traders just won't think of. Earlier this year, for instance, Hall and his traders rented a tanker and filled it with 1 million barrels of oil. Oil prices were down, but most traders thought they were going up again, so futures contracts pegged to distant-month deliveries were expensive. The better deal was the real thing...
...Citi, the controversy surrounding Hall's pay was about whether a bank that has received $45 billion in government assistance should be turning around and handing over big bags of cash provided by taxpayers, most of whom won't make one-tenth of Hall's annual salary in their entire lifetimes, to its employees. But now that Hall has left Citi, a larger question remains: Is anyone really worth $100 million a year, and what exactly do you have to do to deserve that much...
While the amount Hall would have gotten paid is unusual even for Wall Street, how he got paid is not. Hall had a pay package with Citigroup that guaranteed him a percentage of the profits of his group. Recruiter George Stein of Commodity Talent says it's normal for traders to get paid as a percentage of their division's profits. Most contracts guaranteed traders around 9% to 11% of their group's profits, before compensation. What's unusual about Hall is that he reportedly receives as much as 20% of his unit's profits, which sets...
...Hall's success in calling the oil market is what has led him to demand higher pay than most. In 2003, Hall had the belief that the price of oil would rise dramatically in the next few years. Back then, oil was trading at around $30 a barrel, and coming out of a recession few thought prices would rise anytime soon. So Hall bought so-called long-dated oil-futures contracts that would pay off if the price of oil topped $100 at some point in the next five years. Because Hall made a bet oil would reach a price...
When the price of oil recovered Hall made as much as $40 million on that one trade alone. Hall has also reportedly been buying gold this year. Another good move. Inflation fears recently pushed gold above $1,000 an ounce. "Most commodity traders would love to have Hall's ability to call the large trends," says Stein. "He had a long-term view of the market and he was right...