Word: oil
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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...
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...
Making Haste Slowly Government reformers defend the pace of change, arguing that it is actually quite rapid given the transformation Saudi society has undergone since oil riches first started to transform a nomadic culture. "Fifty-five years ago there was no education for girls," says al-Faiz. "Fifty years ago people didn't accept the idea of women working. Now everyone wants their girls or wives to work or go through higher education. I don't think those kinds of changes have happened in any country as quickly as here." (See pictures of Saudi women...
...succeeds Abdullah. Several royal princes are in line for the throne, and some of them, like the King's powerful half brother, Prince Nayef, are known for their conservative views. But as Saudi leaders try to wean the country's economy off its almost total dependence on oil, and develop new industries, they are bound to find that it makes little sense to keep half the country's human capital cooped up at home. Nor will the newly emerging class of Saudi professional women willingly go back to the way things once were. "We are not a bunch of Barbie...