The little-known story of an age-old scam... Published by Damn Interesting on September 2, 2019... Nobody knows who did it first. Swindlers have been pulling off the scam for centuries, paying existing investors with the deposits of new ones to create the illusion of an incredibly profitable investment opportunity. Before 1920, it was known as … Continue reading The Eponymous Mr. Ponzi
Category: Publications
Death by Derivatives
How the opening of a Chicago canal in 1848 led to the birth of modern financial derivatives, and the early demise of some of the men who traded them... Published by Damn Interesting on November 21, 2017... In April of 1873, an unhappy man walked along Clark Street in downtown Chicago. His name was Aymar … Continue reading Death by Derivatives
The Reconstruction of Ulysses S. Grant
How the beloved American Civil War general and two-term president failed at every attempt to make money. Except for one... Published by Damn Interesting on April 11, 2017... In the second half of the 19th century, few Americans were better known—and revered—than the man whose face looks out today from the $50 bill. Ulysses S. … Continue reading The Reconstruction of Ulysses S. Grant
Foreign Exchange(s)
He made a name for himself organizing the world’s most important economic conference, only to have it tarnished by an outrageous accusation. Here's my story of Harry Dexter White, published by Damn Interesting.
The Secret Lives of America’s Migrant Farmers
Published on Narratively on September 3, 2014... An innovative college program opens privileged young eyes to the million undocumented laborers who toil away in an invisible America. Story and photos by Michael Durbin... It’s early June at Camp Chestnut Ridge in Efland, North Carolina. Towering pines outside the dining hall are still dripping after a … Continue reading The Secret Lives of America’s Migrant Farmers
All About Derivatives
This is the book I couldn’t find when I started working with derivatives: A primer I could read on the train with just enough detail to cover the basics of what financial derivatives are all about, with emphasis on the basics–what they are, how they are used, and the risks of using them unwisely. Here's … Continue reading All About Derivatives
All About High Frequency Trading
In this book I present HFT for what it is: the use of speed as a competitive advantage in the trading of financial securities. It can be used for purposes either beneficial and reasonable, or predatory and harmful. I hope my book promotes more of the former and much less of the latter. Here’s an … Continue reading All About High Frequency Trading
Fixing Wall Street’s Autopilot
The New York Times Opinion Pages | OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR By MICHAEL DURBIN MAY 7, 2010 Chapel Hill, N.C. ON Thursday afternoon, the Dow plunged 1,000 points within a few minutes, followed by an equally sudden recovery. We don’t know all the details about the drop, but it was almost certainly the result of computer or … Continue reading Fixing Wall Street’s Autopilot
A Call of the Wild Ends Too Soon
The Chapel Hill News and Raleigh News & Observer, March 8, 2009... The reports a while back of an improbable cougar sighting in Chapel Hill reminded me of my own series of backyard encounters with a feral feline. Four years ago my family moved here from Chicago into the Oaks Villas, a tidy subdivision alongside … Continue reading A Call of the Wild Ends Too Soon
Michael Durbin 