I put my cat down this morning. Weasel was at least 17 years old, though I don't remember the exact date we got him in 1990. He was still a kitten at the time, and I'd not had a Siamese cat before. I came to love the quirks of that breed. What makes his old age even more amazing, are the facts that a) he only came in the house to eat and, b) he was still able to move around well until just this last week. I noticed he was having a bit of trouble with his left side late last week, and we found him last night, under a bush in the front yard, not only unable to stand but barely able to try. We brought him inside and endured a night of listening to his crying in discomfort before taking him in this morning.

If I sat at the computer while he was eating, he would climb into my lap when he finished and purr contentedly. As soon as I got up, he would ask to go back outside. When I would come home, no matter the time of day or mode of transportation, bike or car, he would meet me in the driveway and come inside for a bite to eat. He was no trouble at all. And he lived with me almost as long as my three wives all put together.

So long my friend. 

So it appears the gentleman in France who lost USD 7.3B had, as recently as 2006, been responsible for a third of the bank's annual profit..... to the tune of about USD 3B. The way he had found to accomplish this mad swing in fortune, both good and bad? 

His job was designated as a 'small profit' desk. He was to both buy and sell the same position, creating a small profit when the position actually moved in either direction. That was the job description. But initially, it appears his luck was good, and he began to take only one side of the position, immensely enhancing his profits. But as any trader will tell you, eventually your picks go south.....hence the huge losses. His excuse? His bosses "had to know" what he was doing and "said nothing to stop him" and so he continued.....

But I agree with Mike. You don't have losses until you sell. But that reminds me of a tax client of mine....he was the last person in 2001 to buy Worldcom. His daytrading consisted of buying 1 - 2 million dollars worth of stock, wait for the first 1/8 tick up, and sell. At that volume, the penny profit is large enough to make it worthwhile. He bought Worldcom at about $125/share, and waited for the uptick that never came. He rode that stock down to $2 a share, convinced the price would return to even greater heights. Wiped out the profit from 64 other profitable trades in one bad one.

Greed. That's the only word for it.

Or stupid.