Interview with a Day Trader

Day Traders

Day Traders: Interview with a Day Trader
by Bill Bonner
The Daily Reckoning
Baltimore, Maryland
Friday, November 26, 2004

Bill Bonner recounts a conversation with a cab driver/day trader.

---------------------

*** Computer meltdown! The Daily Reckoning evaporates…

*** What the Chinese official admitted…and then denied…

*** Russian Intelligence…Wiccans…Satanists…Jesse Ventura and
more!

---------------------

Well, er, we were going to have the DR for you as normal today, but
lo and behold, Bill's computer suffered some sort of melt down and he
may have lost everything, including today's already-written edition
of the Daily Reckoning.

The techies have the laptop now, and are eagerly ripping at her
innards, we're told. The memory is recoverable…though they say
she'll never function again.

Bill will be back on line as usual on Monday, and be sure to watch
out for your weekend edition as normal, including an outlandish
prediction for the dollar/sterling exchange rate…(Clue: It's not
Chuck Butler's!)

---------------------

Tom Dyson, from an empty office building in an empty city…

The currency markets are running amok just at the moment.

We've been covering the Russian's forex diversification program in
depth…you could have read about the speech by Oleg Mozhaiskov to
the London Gold Bullion Association in last Friday's edition of the
Rude Awakening, and on Wednesday, we published anti-dollar comments
by Alexey Ulyukayev, Senior Deputy Finance Minister of the RCB.

This must be the clincher:

On Friday, Deputy Chairman Konstantin Korishchenko said the Russian
Central Bank was moving away from the 'dirty' float of the ruble
against the dollar.

What does it all mean? Let's ask China's central bank…

A report from Shanghai-based newspaper, China Business News, said
Beijing had cut the proportion of foreign exchange reserves held in
dollars. The bond market swooned…

Chuck Butler has the full report…

"At one point in the Asian session it was reported in the China
Business News that a Chinese Central Bank Official (Yu), had said
that China had cut their U.S. Treasury securities holdings… And the
euro went flying into the 1.33 handle! That's right! 1.3320, and
looking like there was no stopping it… But then, Mr. Yu, decided to
come clean, or probably more likely got the bejeebers scared out of
him watching things go crazy, and denied ever saying those dreaded
words…And BANG!"

Here's the full piece, posted on our site:

The Daily Pfennig
http://www.dailyreckoning.com/body_headline.cfm?id=4296

---------------------

And still in Baltimore:

*** A reader from America's heartlands:

"As a friend and I were overhauling an engine on a farm tractor,
another friend stopped by. During the talk that followed a comment
was made about something troublesome the friend had just done. My
mechanic buddy asked how he got by his wife with that.

His retort: "I reminded her that at 70 years of age, she didn't hold
near as big a hammer as she did when I was 40 or so!"

*** Chinese President Hu Jintao spotted buying raw materials in
Brazil!

Raw materials will be so essential to China's future that the
president of China decided to visit Brazil in person…and set up
trade deals.

Brazilian exports to China have risen by 30% this year, reports the
BBC, and 500% in the last 5 years. "China's appetite for resources is
expected to quadruple over the next 15 years or so," the piece
concluded.

[Ed. Note: The commodities boom is real. Following a twenty year
investment drought, there is little new supply coming on line, while
in the east, demand for materials is reaching levels we've never
before witnessed.

Kevin Kerr is our commodities man. He used to trade in the pits, now
he just shows his readers how to capture the bull market, whether you
want quick, risky gains, or a solid long-term strategy…

*** Special Offer - Four Days Left - $150 off ***

Resource Trader Alert

http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/RTA/tradeB34/

--- Advertisement ---

The Old Money Secret For Generating Wealth…

Many of the world's wealthiest and oldest families have used this
secret for generations to expand their fortunes - the Onassis Family,
the Hunt Family of Texas, the DuPonts, the Hopkins family, etc.

Now you can do the same… This "old money" investment could make you
returns of 665% or more in the coming months.

http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/TRW/WTRWEB10/

---------------------

Sign up for The Daily Reckoning…
Learn what you can expect from today's markets
and how to prosper in the face of uncertainty.
Enter your e-mail address below:

We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.
-Andrew Palmer, Director E-commerce Marketing
We Value Your Privacy

The Daily Reckoning PRESENTS: A DR Classique originally broadcast on
October 15, 1999…

INTERVIEW WITH A DAY TRADER
By Bill Bonner

I left Baltimore last night and took a cab down to Dulles Airport in
Virginia. The following is the actual conversation with the
cabdriver. It began as the cab crossed the Baltimore beltway, and the
driver suddenly remarked:

"There are a lot of Russians out here."

Yes, I replied.

"I can spot them."

You mean, you can tell if they are Russian?

"Yeah…I can tell. It's a gift I have. "I had two of them in the cab
yesterday. They were Russians all right. I tagged them right away."

I guess you can recognize their accents.

"No…I can tell right away. They don't have to say a word."

Day Traders: Russian Agents

Hmmm?

"They were agents. Russian intelligence."

How did you know that?

"It's a gift."

Hmmm…

"A lot of them out here. One of them was a double agent. Russian
intelligence and CIA. Or maybe NSA. I wasn't sure.

"There are so many…I get confused sometimes. I see them all the
time."

You mean, you take them to the airport?

"Sometimes. But I see a lot of them in the mall. A lot of double
agents too. Whew…a lot of them. Sometimes triple agents. I had one
guy in the car the other day who was CIA, Russian Intelligence and
British intelligence.

"He said he was English…but I could tell. They're pretty good. All
kinds of disguises. No way to tell, unless you can tell…heh heh.

"I had one woman on Tuesday. Nice green eyes. Reddish hair. And a
thick Irish accent. She said she had lived in Ireland all her life.
Even had an Irish passport. But I could tell- Russian Intelligence.

"I haven't had sex in 12 years. Not with woman, child, man or
beast…"

[I decided to let that pass…]

Day Traders: You Can Tell by Looking

"Another guy with a southern accent…great accent. Said he was from
Georgia. Russian intelligence."

Hmmm…there are more than I thought. You can tell just by looking?

"Yeah…sometimes I can tell from a picture. I saw a picture of Al
Gore in `The Washington Post' yesterday. British Intelligence. It
really struck me. No doubt about it."

I would have guessed it. How about Bill Clinton?

"British Intelligence."

And Hillary?

"Ah…British Intelligence. But you see a lot more in her. Wiccan.
Satanist. Some Muslim. Some Buddhist. She gives off a lot."

Wiccan?

"Yeah…she's a witch. Lot of them around too. Especially in the
suburbs.

"I call them Satanists in suits. Not the same as black witchcraft.
They're all over the place. Especially in Silver Spring [A suburb
north of the city]."

[I'm not making this up…honest…]

"I was a Christian. I put leaflets under windshield wipers for
Operation Rescue [an anti-abortion project]. But I didn't want to
kill anybody. Went to church every day. That's when I got the gift.

"Yesterday they wanted me to train a new driver. He sat in the cab
with me for five hours while I showed him the ropes, you know. Well,
I knew. I could just tell. So I said, `Okay…I know you're a
Satanist. And Russian Intelligence.' He said, `Yeah…how'd you
know?' It's a gift."

What do you think of Jesse Ventura, I asked. [I couldn't resist.]

"Don't get me started…The guy is really bad news. I saw him on TV.

"Russian Intelligence. How do you like that? And a governor! Wiccan.
French Intelligence. And military intelligence. A little bit of
Satanism, too."

I figured as much. What do you think of the stock market? [What the
heck…maybe Alan Greenspan is a double agent. I had to know…]

"Oh…I don't do that any more. I used to be a day trader. But I kept
losing my money. Then I got compulsive about it. I'd stay up every
night until 3 a.m. studying the stock market. I guess some guys are
good at it. Not me. I still owe money."

It's a gift, I said.

Bill Bonner
Russian Intelligence