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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is it called when a trader offloads bonds down a customer's throat for the company's benefit?

2. A carnival performer who bites the heads off live chickens and snakes is definition of a _____.

3. A guiding principle of Salomon Brothers that Tom Strauss iterates to the author is that customers have _____.

4. What is jargon for a gamble that is sure to succeed?

5. What type of nightmares is the author having at the beginning of "The Art of War"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the two kinds of friction at Salomon Brothers?

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

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

4. What characterizes Stu Willicker's leadership style?

5. When is the best time to sell short?

6. What is the particular need of thrifts in terms of investing in the mortgage bond market?

7. From the moment the Federal Reserve lifted interest rates in October 1979, what happens to the thrifts?

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

9. What is drifting away from Salomon Brothers and toward Drexel Burnham in 1987? Why?

10. What is selling short?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the bonus structure for first- and second-year Salomon Brothers employees. How are their achievements considered? How does the author feel about this? What are the three emotions that all Salomon Brothers employees feel at bonus time?

Essay Topic 2

What is the perception of "corporate finance" in the investment banking industry? What does someone in corporate finance actually do? What role does and investment banking analyst play in relation to corporate financiers?

Essay Topic 3

What is the quickest way to be fired from Salomon Brothers? Why? How does Gutfreund act contrary to this unwritten rule? How does he get away with it?

(see the answer keys)

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