Thursday, February 26, 2009

British Economic Comedy: John Bird and John Fortune's Routines about the Economic Crisis

John Bird and John Fortune are a British satirical team that participated in a four-part mini series in November 2008, called Silly Money. Their humorous sketches reflect truths about the ongoing economic crisis. Enjoy!

Part 1 of 3


Part 2 of 3 (Discusses correlation concept, behavioral finance, quants)


Part 3 of 3



(Note: Some parts off the discussion might be offensive.)

Some quotes from the clips:
"You have to remember two things about the markets. One is that they are made up of very sharp and sophisticated people who are the greatest brains in the world. The second thing, the markets are, to use a common phrase, are driven by sentiment".

The two go one to explain the dynamics of sentiment on the market, the relationship between dodgy debt packages and structured investment vehicles, and so on, how this relates to hedge funds with fancy names.

"Somehow this package of dodgy debts stops being a package of dodgy debts and starts being called a "structured investment vehicle".

"Shouldn't you have seen this coming?"

"Well, we didn't exactly foresee it, in the strict sense of the word."

"Or in any sense of the word."

"Yes, but when it happened, we DID notice it, which is almost as good, isn't it?"

"It's not us that will suffer, it is your pension fund".

Related:
Silly Money Part 1 (48 minutes)
It's all down to incontinent grandfathers
The Guardian, Thursday October 23, 2008
(Video clip and transcript of a Bird and Fortune routine about the economy.)

Laughs for the credit crunch days



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