View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What do rating services rely exclusively on to assess a company's creditworthy status?

2. Mike Milkin of Drexel Burnham is the guru of _____.

3. What is the name of the Salomon Brothers when it becomes a corporation?

4. How much debt does the savings and loan companies seem to want to sell in 1981?

5. Lewis characterizes the sprinting rabbit statue at the new London office as a _____.

Short Essay Questions

1. The author is convinced that the worst thing a man can do with a telephone without breaking the law is what?

2. How does Bear Stearns take the $250 million loss that Howie Rubin incurs at Merrill Lynch?

3. How is Howie Rubin thought of at Salomon Brothers? Why?

4. What characterizes Stu Willicker's leadership style?

5. When is the best time to sell short?

6. Despite the upheaval in the mortgage market, what is the initial objection that remains valid as the mortgage market evolves?

7. What happens to the average age and the average age at Salomon Brothers in London in 1987?

8. What are some of the bad habits mortgage traders have developed regarding the use of the Salomon Brothers expense account?

9. Why do thrifts come back for more, even though they don't understand what is happening to their loans in the mortgage bond market?

10. What is the relationship of IOs and POs to the market?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the evolution of the mortgage trading department at Salomon Brothers. Who came up with the idea to develop that department? Who saw it through the hard times? What were some of the stumbling blocks that had to be overcome to make mortgages viable for trading? How does it finally become successful?

Essay Topic 2

Compare the personality traits of Lewie Ranieri and Michael Milken. What is the difference between their careers in regards to their respective companies? Compare the amount of money each person made. Why did one make more money than the other?

Essay Topic 3

How does the game of Liar's Poker have the feel of trading? Describe how Liar's Poker works, the list of questions a bond trader asks himself, and list some of the other firms besides Salomon Brothers which have similar games.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 822 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample