Dot-Com Bubble Documentary

The evolution of the Internet and emergence of online businesses brought with them a phenomenon typical of new industries and technologies - a stock market bubble. Indeed the dot-com bubble is one of the largest stock market bubbles of recent history (with the subsequent crash likewise one of the most harsh). But what happened and why? This documentary adds to the list of resources on the tech boom and bust, and makes for interesting and informative viewing - after all it's best to learn from these types of things so you can identify them in the future and gain a better appreciation for the functioning of markets, the various market participants, and of course human (crowd) psychology. See also: Dot Coms Gone Bust, What Happened (Dot Com Boom and Bust), and The Internet Money Machine.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/dot-com-bubble-documentary.html

Traders - Episode 1x04 - The King is Dead...

Traders is a Canadian television investment banking drama series shot and aired in the late 1990s. It is an interesting and entertaining TV series based on a fictional investment bank "Gardner Ross". It is one of a handful of investment banking focused dramas, and is credible enough to be interesting and somewhat informative, but most of all, entertaining.

Season 1, Episode 4: Ben is moved from the trading floor at the exchange to a trading desk at the firm as Sally promised. After having lost the case the against Cedric, the securities commission puts Gardner Ross under further scrutiny. In doing so, they uncover Marty's trades in the Navadyne while it was restricted. Susannah Marks, the firm's analyst, suspects a company's reported financial numbers are cooked and resists pressure from the others to make a buy recommendation. Sally backs her. They later find out she was right. Susannah gets a call from an accented man claiming that a recommendation she made cause him to lose money. He threateningly tells her to make a positive recommendation on a construction company. Susannah finds a funds transfer document that has been misfiled and gives it to Sally. After seeing it Sally goes to a ministry that her father allegedly embezzled funds from to talk to the Reverend, who is under RCMP surveillance..


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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/traders-episode-1x04-king-is-dead.html

Moon For Sale

The final frontier of commerce - space - is attracting increasing attention. In the coming decades it's possible we might see the start of a galactic real estate boom. Or perhaps if you believe in the work done by Dennis Hope - a pioneer of space real estate. Although the issues are complex e.g. sovereignty, property rights, someday soon these issues could be a day to day fact of doing business out of this world. But as interesting as extraterrestrial real estate is, another potential boom area could be space-sourced commodities. In this documentary they talk about Helium-3 (a potential energy source), but already there is a company set up to investigate and mine asteroids. It's hard to say when the technology will exist to bring space commodities down to earth, but it's worth keeping an eye on as it would have clear implications for terrestrial commodity and financial markets. Indeed, the next big stock market sector could be something like space resources. In the mean time enjoy this documentary on moon commerce.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/moon-for-sale.html

Made For Play - Board Games and Modern Industry

The board game industry continues to battle on despite the effects of the arrival of new disruptive technologies like the Internet and ipads, electronic gaming etc. The board game industry remains a global industry with complex manufacturing, logistics, and distribution systems. This documentary provides an interesting look at this industry, how a game goes from an idea to mass production, and how the industry is striving to stay relevant to consumers in the electronic age. It's a pretty good case study of modern industry, and is quite eye opening in terms of all the people involved and all the machines and inputs at each stage of the manufacturing process.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/made-for-play-board-games-and-modern.html

The Biggest Bank Heist Ever

This documentary talks about the banking crisis - specifically though this documentary provides a look at how the hit movie "Inside Job" was made; not just a making-of, it goes into some of the issues and talks about how this project was difficult but necessary to bring the key issues to everyone's attention in easy to understand terms.

The award winning documentary 'Inside Job' [2011 | US] by the veteran crusader, Charles Ferguson is the most insightful and illuminating amongst a number of such attempts that deal with the global financial crisis, which is wrecking lives and economies across the world to this day. The reason is that it successfully challenges the myths and lies surrounding the root causes of the crisis and tells us exactly how and why it happened, in a simple and straightforward way that anyone can understand.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/the-biggest-bank-heist-ever.html

Something Ventured

Venture capital is one of the most exciting areas of finance and investing because it deals with the starting and creation of businesses. It is the rawest form of investing and economics - putting capital to work to bring ideas into reality. These days the venture capital industry is well advanced and sophisticated, with plenty of funds playing in different areas e.g. early stage, seed capital, expansion capital, pre-IPO funding, and with specialisations e.g. in information technology or biotech, etc. The venture capital industry forms a vital part of an economy. This movie, Something Ventured, offers a unique insight into the rise of venture capital, with some notable examples. So watch and learn about "the single greatest engine of innovation and economic growth in the 20th century" - enjoy!

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/something-ventured.html

Traders - Episode 1x03 - Bad Is Good

Traders is a Canadian television drama series shot and aired in the late 1990s. It is an interesting and entertaining TV series based on a fictional investment bank "Gardner Ross". It is one of a handful of investment banking focused dramas, and is credible enough to be interesting and somewhat informative, but most of all, entertaining.

Season 1, Episode 3: Cedric is offered a plea bargain by the prosecution. Doubting that the prosecution's case is strong, he rejects it. At the end of the episode, Sally figures out that the securities commission made an illegal search and seizure in obtaining evidence on her father and the case against him is dropped. The firm decides to restrict trading in Navadyne, a GPS company, while Marty has a large short position. Rather than face serious and potentially unlimited losses as the stock rises, Marty defies orders and covers the short position anyway. Donald informs Adam that the British rail offer does not have a market out clause, meaning that the price is guaranteed by Gardner Ross. As the price of British rail drops, the firm loses money. Adam later punches a hole in the wall of his office when he finds out.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/traders-episode-1x03-bad-is-good.html

How Algorithms Shape Our World

This is a TED talk: Kevin Slavin argues that we're living in a world designed for -- and increasingly controlled by -- algorithms. In this riveting talk from TEDGlobal, he shows how these complex computer programs determine: espionage tactics, stock prices, movie scripts, and architecture. And he warns that we are writing code we can't understand, with implications we can't control.

This is a fascinating talk that really simply and interestingly presents a series of issues around the rise of the algorithms. In finance the markets are increasingly being dominated by computer traders; be they execution modules, tracker and intel modules, pure arb, or even quant trader systems with little to no human intervention. If you work in the markets you need to understand this trend, even if you don't it's very interesting. See also: Quants: The Alchemists of Wall Street, Trillion Dollar Bet (the Midas Formula), Wall Street - The Speed Traders, and The Flash Crash

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/how-algorithms-shape-our-world.html

Wall Street Warriors S02E06

The Wall Street Warriors series follows the careers of a range of Wall Street professionals; across the spectrum of professions e.g. traders, private equity fund managers, investment bankers, stock brokers, and experience levels e.g. rookies, associates, seasoned professionals. This is a very interesting series for those wanting to learn more about what people do on Wall Street (i.e. in the finance industry), and is must see viewing for those interested in a career in finance. It also gives an insight into what their lives are like and how they spend their time, how they think about their careers. This episode is from the second series of the hit Wall Street Warriors franchise.

Sleepless nights, second thoughts and all-time highs. Impulsive markets create a chaotic trading day for Jess while Jim and Lance enjoy the good times as their stocks climb high. After a torrential introduction to the New York trading game, Laeticia gracefully bows out to try her luck in Paris.


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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/wall-street-warriors-s02e06.html

Trading Academy - Episode 6: The Final

This is the final of the series, where the last three traders go head to head to see who will become the best trader - and of course which trader will pick up the 100k prize. Much of the final in the series focuses on analysing the individual traders as they stand before the expert judges; who has had the best performance? who has mastered their trading psychology? who has the most sustainable trading style? and of course ultimately - who will be named the best trader? The final in the series provides a fine completion to the 6-part series in which novice traders compete and learn to become expert traders. Watch the traders in action and learn from others. See also: Episode 1 (meet the candidates), Episode 2 (FTSE Fundamentals), Episode 3 (Global Indices), Episode 4 (Stocks and Shares), Episode 5 (Trading FX) and Million Dollar Traders (a similar apprentice-style trading competition where the aim is to train a successful hedge fund manager). Be sure to add your comments below.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/trading-academy-episode-6-final.html

The Retirement Gamble

Retirement savings is an important issue for many people around the world. Even if there's a government safety net, the ability to be able to support yourself in retirement and do the things you want ultimately depends on how much you can save and how hard you can put your savings to work. But in America "one in three Americans have no retirement savings at all". This video looks at the US situation, and examines savings habits, retirement planning issues, and in particular looks at the big business of retirement savings products. And it is a big business - and a strongly growing one at that. There is a large industry of financial planners, mutual fund providers, trust and administration companies, advisers, salesmen, etc. A valid question is whether the industry as a whole adds value - and for the most part the answer is they provide some useful services. The key question that all investors must ask is how much fees am I paying? Because the difference between a 2% fee and a 1% fee can amount to a significant sum over time when you think about the power of compounding. Watch, learn, prepare, and start saving!

Watch The Retirement Gamble on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/the-retirement-gamble.html

Traders - Episode 1x02 - Pennies from Heaven

Traders is a Canadian television drama series shot and aired in the late 1990s. It is an interesting and entertaining TV series based on a fictional investment bank "Gardner Ross".

Season 1, Episode 1: At the beginning of the show, Marty fires several of the trading staff after they leave the floor in response to a fire alarm while in the midst of executing a large trade. Jack approaches Navadyne, a GPS company with highly marketable technology products but lacking management expertise and capital to meet demand for its products. In looking for a suitable investor for Navadyne, Jack finds the perfect match in an aviation company owned by a recluse. When Jack and Donald D'Arby show up at his office, he refuses to see them but learn that he is a client of Ann Krywarik at Gardner Ross. Ann, who wants a new desk, initially refuses to help Jack access her client until Jack challenges her to a game of pool. If he wins, she will introduce him to her reclusive client. If she wins, he will get her a new desk. The following day, Jack gets a pool lesson from his father. When they play, Ann is about to win when Jack suckers her into a side bet causing her to lose. Later on, they manage to convince Ann's eccentric client to buy Navadyne. Jack and Ann begin a relationship soon after. Sally asks Marty to curtail practices on the trading floor to avoid any securities commission inquiries until her father has been cleared of charges but Marty refuses. Adam uses an old contact to get $25M of a British railroad privatization offering for the firm but the issue does not include a market out clause. Marty wants Benny Siedleman, an aging floor trader and his former boss to join his desk traders but Adam refuses. Sally later offers to move Benny from the trading floor to a trading desk on the condition that Marty cuts down on his questionable transactions to avoid any further scrutiny from the securities commission.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/05/traders-episode-1x02-pennies-from-heaven.html

The Age of Big Data

This BBC Horizon documentary looks at the arrival of the age of "big data". While data has been around since the dawn of time, only recently has the technology evolved that has allowed us to more efficiently capture, store and interrogate the data. This has profound implications for financial markets, but it also has many other real world applications. The documentary looks at four case studies on the use of big data, and also looks back a hundred years into the past at a pioneer in the field of big data and epidemiology. First up is a pilot program being run in the city of LA where a massive crime database is used to predict where and when future crimes will happen. Then there's a look at a big quant hedge fund, which employs over 100 PhDs and scientists; taking a scientific approach to trading and investment through the use of an enormous amount of data. Then we see how data can be used to make advertising more relevant and ultra-targeted. Finally the explosion of data is viewed in a cosmological context, with South African astronomers looking to catalogue the entire cosmos. See also: Quants: The Alchemists of Wall Street and Trillion Dollar Bet (The Midas Formula)

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/04/the-age-of-big-data.html

Wall Street Warriors S02E05

The Wall Street Warriors series follows the careers of a range of Wall Street professionals; across the spectrum of professions e.g. traders, private equity fund managers, investment bankers, stock brokers, and experience levels e.g. rookies, associates, seasoned professionals. This is a very interesting series for those wanting to learn more about what people do on Wall Street (i.e. in the finance industry), and is must see viewing for those interested in a career in finance. It also gives an insight into what their lives are like and how they spend their time, how they think about their careers, etc. This episode is from the second series of the hit Wall Street Warriors franchise.

This ain't easy street …it's Wall Street and Larry can't remember the last time he slept. One of the biggest days in the OJ pit has just arrived and he stands to lose millions if his bets are off. Laetitia is feeling the pressure mount as well. As she approaches her 5th week of training, she contemplates her fate as a day trader and makes some hard decisions.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/04/wall-street-warriors-s02e05.html

What Happened (Dot Com Boom and Bust)

What Happened? This documentary with the name "What Happened" sets out to show you what happened during the dot com boom of the late 1990s. The documentary was created by Chas Mastin, Michael Lefort, Aldo Bello and a cast of characters in 2001-02. The documentary features interviews with such dot com luminaries as Mark Cuban. Find out what happened from those on the frontlines of the dot com boom. The documentary goes into how Internet entrepreneurs were paid obscene amounts of money for ideas and websites which made no money or didn't even have a hope of making money. Indeed the documentary claims over $20 billion of venture capital was poured into internet companies (the same amount spent on developing the nuclear bomb, and sending a man to space). Of course the investment banks played a major role in the mania - they provided capital, encouraged people to IPO in order to collect the big fees, and hyped up the valuations and prospects to a crowd of investors who were looking for hype. As interesting as this documentary is by itself, it's also an interesting example of a market mania - there will be future market manias so it is worth studying them and learning how to recognise and advantage from them.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/04/what-happened-dot-com-boom-and-bust.html

Trading Academy - Episode 5: Trading FX

In this episode the traders get to grips with the global currency markets; learning to trade foreign exchange instruments (more here). The traders receive advice on trading strategies and tactics from the mentors, and then are set loose on the forex markets. FX trading in particular is a very interesting form of trading as it often involves high leverage and the market can move and react to global events in an instant. You need to manage risks, know where the trend is, be aware of global macro events and form a view on where the data will print. Whether you trade on fundamentals or on price patterns you need a solid strategy and a strong trading approach - and of course you need to master your trading psychology. Watch the traders in action and learn from others. See also: Episode 1 (meet the candidates), Episode 2 (FTSE Fundamentals), Episode 3 (Global Indices), Episode 4 (Stocks and Shares) and Million Dollar Traders (a similar apprentice-style trading competition where the aim is to train a successful hedge fund manager). Be sure to add your comments below.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/04/trading-academy-episode-5-trading-fx.html

Traders - Episode 1x01 - Options

Traders is a Canadian television drama series shot and aired in the late 1990s. It is an interesting and entertaining TV series based on a fictional investment bank "Gardner Ross".

Season 1, Episode 1: Jack Larkin, a Vancouver-based trader with Gardner Ross, shows up at their Toronto office with a plan to move from the trading floor into corporate finance. He meets with Cedric Ross, the eponymous controlling shareholder of Gardner Ross, who initially balks at the idea of making him an investment banker but agrees to further consideration if Jack can land a coveted mining company IPO (Initial Public Offering) for firm. Jack hustles to find the location of a poker game that the owner of Graykirk Mining, Gerald Graykirk, is playing and bribes his way into the game. During the poker game Jack connects with Gerald Graykirk and, while sharing a limousine ride later, convinces him to let Gardiner Ross lead the IPO. Despite an attempt to undermine the deal by Adam, Gardner Ross leads the Graykirk IPO, taking 40% of the $300M issue but endangers its ability to survive to do so. The firm only survives the offering with some deft (and questionable) market maneuvering led by Jack and the head trader, Marty Stephens. As per his deal with Sally, Jack becomes a director of Gardner Ross.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/04/traders-episode-1x01-options.html

Chess Grandmaster turns hedge fund manager

Ever wonder what would happen if a chess Grandmaster became a fund manager? Here's you chance to find out first hand with an Opalesque interview with Patrick Wolff. Patrick Wolff is the founder of equity long-short hedge fund Grandmaster Capital, seeded by PayPal founder Peter Thiel. His investment approach is "4 parts Warren Buffett, 1 part Peter Thiel" with a sprinkling of global macro insights. Patrick's background includes time as a chess champion, working the dot com world in Silicon Valley, and then onto work at Clarium - a global macro hedge fund. Wolff is an interesting individual and is well worth listening to.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/04/chess-grandmaster-turns-hedge-fund.html

Wall Street Warriors S02E04

Wall Street Warriors follows the careers of a range of Wall Street professionals; across the spectrum of professions and experience levels. This is a very interesting series for those wanting to learn more about what people do on Wall Street (i.e. in the finance industry), and is must see viewing for those interested in a career in finance. This episode is from the second series of the hit Wall Street Warriors franchise.

Markets are beginning to drop and the bullish stockbroker's are feeling the pain. Brett hasn't slept in 24 hours as he prepares for a key investment meeting. Laetitia has a potentially life-changing job interview in Paris with a merchant banker. Larry plays commodities "poker" and enjoys the good-life with his family.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/04/wall-street-warriors-s02e04.html

Land Rush

This documentary combines economics, commodities, private equity and hedge funds, with industry and demographic trends. In other words this documentary looks at how a systematic rise in agricultural prices has made it a potentially profitable venture for investors with the capital and expertise to buy up large tracts of land in Africa and transform agricultural practices to global best practice. Of course there's always room for complications, conflict, and exploitation. These issues are important and worth noting and understanding, but the idea that advanced agricultural techniques be brought to Africa to improve crop yields should be a positive. There is certainly scope for this investment to positively impact on the local economy and to provide new opportunities for the locals - indeed partnerships promise mutual benefits - but this is not a given and probably requires a good policy and regulatory setting, as well as investors that approach it as a partnership and not just a way for a quick buck.

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Finance Documentaries: http://www.financedocumentaries.com/2013/04/land-rush.html