Even as the President and Congress try to create a Hail Mary pass with a financial rescue package, old habits never die. Despite the fact that the current crop of poison exotic derivatives exceeds the annual value of the world economy, financial engineers and quants continue to generate more derivatives to keep them company, ignoring the real world limitations of their models, putting economies at greater risk.
“One of the problems with financial engineering is that there are no physical limits to new creations; a credit default swap can be replicated over and over (to $50 trillion dollars apparently.) In real life, a design is bound by gravity, cost, and many other practical issues. (Ibid)
Financial engineering, modeling and computer-generated market forecasting have not lost their allure. If anything, it seems that modelers, financial analysts, underwriters and quants are in even greater demand. With the rest of Wall Street laying off right and left, a financial engineer with 2 year’s experience can command a $300,000 salary as an electronic trader.
Despite the multi-billion dollar meltdown, Wall Street hasn’t lost its addiction to unreliable models. And we haven’t lost our addiction to government bailouts.
Monica Davis is a Midwest-based author, columnist, activist and public speaker. Her articles have been used as research for legislation on the state and national level. Her book, Land, Legacy and Lynching: Building the Future for Black America is part of a museum exhibit on black farmers. She is available for speaking engagements.
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