Word: trader
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...rocks, extols the virtues of the Exocet missile to a cadre of entranced Brazilian admirals. In a Persian Gulf capital, a U.S. military attache prepares a top-secret memo listing the weaknesses of the host country's armed forces. In the lobby of a Zurich hotel, a trader who arranges sales of slightly used rifles and mortars ?a "bedroom dealer" in the jargon of the trade?haggles softly with the representative of a Third World guerrilla movement...
...still deal in original sin," says a European arms trader. That somewhat mystical remark typifies the reputation of the arms trade, both within and without its own ranks. Arms salesmen apparently can never quite get over the fact that they are the heirs of Sir Basil Zaharoff, the archetypal death merchant who gave the trade its bad name. Bribing, cheating, lying fluently in eight languages and playing upon nations' fears of their neighbors, Zaharoff-as chief salesman for Britain's Vickers company-amassed a huge fortune by selling weapons to both sides in the Boer War, Balkan conflicts...
...straightforward boardroom deals that have been scrutinized by lawyers and checked thoroughly by accountants, and are supervised carefully by government agencies. Where there is keen competition among several suppliers, however, some arms companies try a little harder. "Graft fuels almost every arms transaction," admits a veteran European arms trader. In his view, the main factor determining the size of the bribe required to make a sale is the degree to which power is dispersed within the government buying the arms. "Some governments are so tight at the top that one or two handouts will do. Others are so 'democratic...
...shares of a common stock at an agreed-upon price any time within three, six or nine months. While the Federal Reserve Board requires those who buy stock directly to put up at least 50% of its cost in cash at the time of purchase, the option trader need only put up what the option seller demands: usually 5% to 20% of the value of his shares...
Politics in Japan has traditionally been a sport for the upper classes, those proper conservatives who went to the elite schools and enjoyed the right connections. Premier Kakuei Tanaka, 56, son of an indigent horse trader and a self-made millionaire, was a striking ex ception. Boasting nicknames like "the Computerized Bulldozer," he swept into the premiership 28 months ago with promises of "decision and action" and an expansion of trade with China. Last week he proved to be a victim of his own hard-driving success...