Zero-Sum Game: The Rise of the World's Largest Derivatives Exchange - Hardcover

Olson, Erika S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470624205 ISBN 13: 9780470624203

Publisher: Wiley, 2010

Synopsis

In 2007, a stranger-than-fiction multibillion-dollar bidding war for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) erupted between the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Atlanta’s IntercontinentalExchange (ICE). Zero-Sum Game: The Rise of the World’s Largest Derivatives Exchange takes readers behind the scenes of this battle to tell the gripping―and often comical―story of how the historic merger between CME and CBOT almost didn’t happen.

Author Erika S. Olson, a managing director at CBOT during the bidding war, delivers a blow-by-blow account of the fight for the world’s oldest futures exchange, taking you inside CBOT’s landmark Chicago Loop headquarters, onto the high-octane trading floor, and into executives’ offices.

Through the lens of the CME/CBOT deal, Zero-Sum Game:

• Introduces the colorful and outspoken personalities who call the shots in this close-knit and frequently misunderstood industry
• Details the reasons behind the recent, spectacular growth of a market that’s existed for over 160 years
• Explains how derivatives affect the lives of average consumers worldwide by influencing everything from interest rates on credit cards to the cost of a cheeseburger to the price of a gallon of gas
• Reveals the inner workings of futures exchanges, and differentiates the various types of derivatives that are routinely lumped together and vilified by the media

Erika S. Olson is a former managing director of the Chicago Board of Trade and spent over ten years working in and consulting to the financial services industry. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

About this title

About the Author

ERIKA S. OLSON is a business consultant, financial writer, and blogger, and was a managing director at the Chicago Board of Trade during the bidding war between CME and ICE. She holds a BBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

From the Back Cover

The true story of century-old rivals that joined forces to control futures trading in America.

"Often described as the last frontier of true capitalism, the storied history of the Chicago futures exchanges added yet another incredible chapter in July of 2007. The purchase of the Chicago Board of Trade by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange represented what many viewed as a crowning achievement to an industry born in the Windy City in 1848. Zero-Sum Game lets the reader get to know the colorful players and complex horse-trading that officially sent "the Hatfields and the McCoys" to the altar of a successful corporate marriage."
--RICK SANTELLI, on-air editor, CNBC; former member of CME and CBOT

"Commodities are second only to foreign exchange in the financial markets. They are now becoming more accessible to the public and will be more important than stocks in the future. Zero-Sum Game will help you understand the scene."
--JIM ROGERS, author of A Gift to My Children

"Zero-Sum Game is a positive-sum read. Olson provides an engaging tour of the workings of our largest derivatives exchanges, as well as the economics, strategies, and drama of an intense acquisition contest."
--STEVEN N. KAPLAN, Neubauer Family Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

"What a fun read! Olson does a great job of bringing the characters and institutions to life throughout."
--HARRIS C. BRUMFIELD, CEO, Trading Technologies

"Olson's inside account offers a fascinating and unique lens that escapes most written reports in the M&A world. Wise professionals will want to read this book long before they learn their company is an acquisition target."
--MAX H. BAZERMAN, Straus Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; co-author of Negotiation Genius

"Olson just painted the Sistine Chapel of LaSalle Street. Zero-Sum Game is a page-turning jolt of electricity! Full of intrigue mixed with easy-to-understand facts--the perfect story to keep readers up all night."
--CRAIG T. BOUCHARD, co-founder, Esmark; co-author of America for Sale

"Zero-Sum Game provides a ringside seat for one of the most entertaining, memorable, and--more often than not--humorous multibillion-dollar battles in recent history."
--PETER L. BRIGER JR., Co-Chairman, Fortress Investment Group

"A vivid and engaging account of one of the most important deals of the last decade."
--GUHAN SUBRAMANIAN, Joseph Flom Professor of Law and Business, Harvard Law School; Douglas Weaver Professor of Business Law, Harvard Business School

From the Inside Flap

In 2007, a stranger-than-fiction multibillion-dollar bidding war for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) erupted between the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Atlanta's IntercontinentalExchange (ICE). Zero-Sum Game: The Rise of the World's Largest Derivatives Exchange takes readers behind the scenes of this battle to tell the gripping, and often comical, story of how the historic merger between CME and CBOT almost didn't happen. Author Erika S. Olson--a former managing director at CBOT--reveals why these bitter crosstown enemies put aside more than a century of bad blood in order to form CME Group, a behemoth that now controls 98 percent of the regulated futures market in the United States. From fast food, electricity, and interest rates, to building materials, jewelry, and gas, the prices of countless products and services that companies and consumers use every day are influenced by contracts traded at CME Group.

Olson delivers a blow-by-blow account of the fight for the world's oldest futures exchange, taking you inside CBOT's landmark Chicago Loop headquarters, past security guards, onto the high-octane trading floor, and into executives' offices. Along the way, she makes the inner workings of futures exchanges accessible by explaining what these institutions do, how futures contracts work, and who benefits from investing in derivatives. She also provides background and insight on the men in control of this powerful, tight-knit, and frequently misunderstood industry.

Zero-Sum Game is the incredible inside story of how the world's largest and most diverse exchange came to be, how the creation of CME Group forever altered the landscape of the financial services industry, and what it all means for the global economy . . . and you.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0470624205
• ISBN 13: 9780470624203
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272