I’ve long believed that potential employers are put off by my CV. To cut a long story short, quite a few of the companies I’ve worked for no longer exist. The list includes Midland Bank, First Interstate Bank of California (I was only there nine days, so it hardly counts anyway), Nomura Bank (a technical detail), TheStreet.co.uk and BridgeNews. It seems that I’m a bit of a Jonah, so I am obviously grateful to my esteemed editor at Euromoney for giving me the opportunity to feed the black hole, otherwise known as my bank account.
Given my history, I fully appreciate what they must be thinking at FXCM. First they sell a 35% stake in the company to Refco, which then implodes; and then that stake is partially bought (9.9%) by Lehman, which then implodes. In no way is this a reflection on FXCM, whose volumes and revenues are soaring. I hear that it has already had phone calls from fresh investors who feel that it may be third time lucky.