From $138k to $286k in two years, followed by panic attacks

Ostensibly, Dalal Belghiti was doing pretty ok. In 2010, as a 31 year-old associate in Jefferies’ international sales credit team, she earned a salary of £138k. Two years later, her salary had been hiked to $268k, and she received what the Guardian describes as a ‘hefty undisclosed bonus.’

Two years later again, however, Belghiti quit, claiming that her time at Jefferies had left her afflicted with ‘adjustment order’ and ‘depressive anxiety’ and that even approaching Jefferies’ office induced panic attacks. 

The cause, according to Belghiti, was sexism. In a court case brought against the bank this week, she claims that a manager at Jefferies left a condom on his desk, that men at the bank referred to women as “bids” if they considered them attractive and “offer only” if they didn't, that a company skiing trip was men-only because its purpose was drinking and sexual activity, and that a company night out at a club involved women hired for client entertainment.

Jefferies is retaliating with claims that Belghiti has issues with her ‘personality’, that her performance at work was inadequate and that she didn’t make enough effort with the accounts assigned to her. The case continues...

Separately, in the latest instalment in its excellent series on Tom Hayes, the Wall Street Journal says the ex-LIBOR trader found an easy way of making money. Hayes found an error in the way online casinos pay bonus cash, says the Journal. New customers can ‘virtually guarantee’ themselves a big profit the first time they bet. Hayes is said to have treated the casinos’ error as ‘free money’ and opened numerous accounts to exploit it.

Coder Traders (eFinancialCareers)

Is coding imperative if you want to be a trader? Increasingly, yes.

Cashing In (eFinancialCareers)

Meet the Hong Kong bankers taking advantage og China’s market turmoil.

Harvard Pay Gap  (Huffington Post) 

Ten years after starting at Harvard University, men make on average $53,600 more per year than women who graduated from the school. 

Trader Quits  (Bloomberg) 

Deutsche Bank's head of equities trading, Andre Crawford-Brunt, is leaving the company after more than 20 years.

Smarter Traders (Financial Times)

Why traders need to be smarter than before: “The intensity of volatility episodes overall indicates that market functioning does seem to be deteriorating.”

Trader Claims (Bloomberg) 

Currency traders have little to lose by filing employment claims.

Stanford Scandal (Mercury News) 

Salacious goings-on at Stanford Business School.

Rocker Financier (Financial News)

The global head of products and markets at SwapClear is a former alternative rock guitarist with a degree in conflict resolution.  

Houston Lands (Reuters)

J.P. Morgan just hired ex-Goldman Sachs banker Houston Huang as head of Global Investment Banking China.

Right Attitude (QZ) 

Pep talk: your attitude is more important than your IQ.

How To Network  (WSJ)

Find a group of people who look bored and liven them up. “If you’re able to shift the mood of a group in a positive way, it’s very powerful.”

Refugee PE  (WSJ)

Private equity funds investing in refugee camps: “The margins are very low. One of the keys is, certainly, volume.”

Quote of the day

“Everybody that I know wears socks with flip-flops, except females,” says Brandon Meriweather. When he shows up at the mall wearing dark sandals with white socks, Meriweather says strangers ask two questions: “Are you Brandon Meriweather?” and “Why are you wearing socks with flip-flops?”

The eight-year NFL veteran on his love for matching socks with sandals.