-- Published: Monday, 13 January 2014 | Print | Disqus
By Larry LaBorde
The lovely Miss Puddy and myself traipsed off to the theatre again on movie night to see Martin Scorsese’s new film. The film starred Leonardo DiCaprio who played the amoral Wall Street broker, Jordan Belford.
Aside from the sex / drugs / language that was just over the top, the undercurrent theme of broker theft from clients and total disregard for the welfare of their customers was quite disturbing. Greed, self-indulgence and self-destruction, not to mention stupidity, were also common themes.
The narcissistic behavior of Jordan and the other brokers was disturbing. Somehow Wall Street and Washington DC seem to attract narcissist like a moth to a flame. A doctor friend of mine confided in me that narcissistic personality disorder is not curable at present by western medicine. After watching the movie perhaps they should be taken out back and shot to protect the rest of us. Just kidding but they are dangerous in a society. When they are put in a position of power or high finance they are capable of blowing up society.
On December 18th of 2013 there was a free advanced screening of the movie on Wall Street at the Regal Battery Park theatre. As disturbing as the movie was it was reported that the brokers of Wall Street that screened the movie “cheered “ at the parts of the movie that were the most decadent. They especially cheered during the scene where DeCaprio and his buddy had taken so many depressants that he could not even stand up while his friend was choking to death across the room and the TV played a Popeye cartoon. On TV, Popeye opened a can of spinach and saved the day. DiCaprio reached for a vial of cocaine and then leapt to his feet and saved his choking friend while the audience again cheered out loud. I am not sure if I am more disturbed by the scene on the screen or the scene in the theatre by the “broker” viewers.
Robert Prechter, of Elliot wave fame, always says that the social mood is reflected in the markets. If we could assume that the social mood is expressed in popular movies like this one then we are all doomed.
All we need now is a sci-fi horror movie that showcases HFT (high frequency trading) showing where over half the volume on Wall Street is now computerized robotic trading utilizing the most advanced computers and software in the world along with high speed networks. Entire buildings with their guts ripped out and nothing left but computers, air conditioning to cool them and fiber optic transmission cables in lower Manhattan all running on auto pilot working against the average trader 24/7 without stopping. Robo-trader! We could name it HAL. That would be a pretty scary futuristic movie. Maybe the horror part is the fact that the future is already here?
Most of real everyday business is built on trust and personal relationships - especially in the financial arena. After watching the Wolf of Wall Street I felt like I should go home and take a shower and then lighten up on stocks in my portfolio and ease away from Wall Street in general and move a few dollars closer to Main Street. A few more movies like this one and the general public may stampede towards the exits and sell everything.
Two thumbs down for Wall Street.
Larry LaBorde
Larry LaBorde sells precious metals through Silver Trading Company LLC. Since 2001, Silver Trading Company has offered high volume sales of gold, silver, platinum and palladium to serious investors around the world. It also offers guidance about storage options for metals. Please visit Silver Trading Company’s new website at www.SilverTrading.net.
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-- Published: Monday, 13 January 2014 | E-Mail | Print | Source: GoldSeek.com
