Author: Lady Trader

"Lady Trader" is a Brooklyn girl, and a Wall Street lifer! Recently fought cancer, and won! I love heavy metal, history, sci-fi, oh, and blogging about Billions and it's great lead actor, Damian Lewis!

“From the Trader’s Desk”:
Bobby Axelrod – a Man and his Music *UPDATED*

**UPDATED**

There are many things that Bobby Axelrod and I have in common: New York born and bred; working class backgrounds; very non-traditional road to Wall Street; our love of gambling lead us to our career paths. However, the one thing that has always been my favorite commonality is our love for heavy metal bands and their music. Heavy Metal is not the most well known genre of music, so let’s explore Bobby Axelrod and his music, and what it says about him.

In each season of Billions, at least one episode has featured a song and a t-shirt of a metal band that must be Axe’s favorites. The writers of Billions don’t do anything just to do it, so we know that these choices are there to tell a story, shine light on who the character is, and to set a tone.

Metal is very misunderstood: devil worship, drugs, biting the heads of bats, or just screeching guitars may come to mind if you say the words “heavy metal”. But, it is so much more than that! Last season, I used Black Sabbath lyrics to open (and in some cases close) my “From the Trader’s Desk” recaps. In most cases, if I hadn’t referenced it to Sabbath, you’d have wondered what philosopher or poet I was quoting. Metal lyrics are some of the best I have ever heard; they tell stories of pain, loss, confusion, success, etc. – lyrics that would certainly resonate with a young man from Yonkers whose Dad has up and left, and whose home life is full of conflict. Continue reading ““From the Trader’s Desk”: Bobby Axelrod – a Man and his Music *UPDATED*”

Lady Trader’s Proust Questionnaire

It’s Lady Trader’s turn to spill the tea, so here we go!

I was so excited when I knew we were all going to do the Proust Questionnaire after Damian did it. The questions were fun, but revealing; I was so curious as to how my fellow team members would answer, and how I would as well.

When I first filled out the Questionnaire it was several months ago. Reviewing my answers recently, I realized I had to change a few, as things in my life had changed, and I was in a different place. It just goes to show you how life can change in a short period of time. I am also curious as to what my answers would have been had I taken this “quiz” before my cancer fight. I know I’m a lot more introspective now, so these answers reflect Lady Trader 2.0! Continue reading “Lady Trader’s Proust Questionnaire”

Billions, Season 4: Expectations, Things We’d Like To See (or not!) and a Fantasy or Two – Revisited!

Hello from the Trader’s Desk!

For the past 2 seasons, as we eagerly awaited the upcoming season of our favorite show “Billions“, we here at Fan Fun shared some of our predictions and thoughts about the new season. Now that Season 4 has come to a conclusion, we thought it would be FUN to look back and see just how good our predictions were.

Some of us were very good looking into the Billions Crystal Ball, others (like me) not so much! How good were you at your predictions? Continue reading “Billions, Season 4: Expectations, Things We’d Like To See (or not!) and a Fantasy or Two – Revisited!”

From The Trader’s Desk: Sabotage! Billions S4 E12 – Season Finale

‘Cause what you see you might not get
And we can bet so don’t you get souped yet
You’re scheming on a thing that’s a mirage
I’m trying to tell you now it’s sabotage
Sabotage – Beastie Boys

Welcome to the last “From the Trader’s Desk” for Season 4 of Billions. We’ve seen the Good, the Bad, and ultimately, the very Ugly from our favorite characters this season (look for our upcoming “Best of Billions” for this season soon!), and this episode, “Extreme Sandbox” was no different.

Before I get into the episode, I want to say how much I have enjoyed bringing “From the Trader’s Desk” to you all each week. These posts were originally supposed to clear up any “fin-speak” that non-Wall Streeters just didn’t get. In the beginning, there was a lot of it! So much so, that we were adding to our Billions: Glossary on a weekly basis. However, as the show got more and more into the characters and the complexity of their relationships, the financial jargon got less and less. What would I write about? I decided that I would do what I do best: analyze and evaluate. If I can do it with companies I trade, I can do it with the rich characters of Billions. I didn’t know how it would go, but I have gotten some of the best feedback on my analysis posts, so thank you! Continue reading “From The Trader’s Desk: Sabotage! Billions S4 E12 – Season Finale”

From The Trader’s Desk: “Parallel Lines” Billions S4 Ep11

Those who try to burn him pay
You don’t do that to Johnny Blade
He’s the meanest guy around his town
One look and he will cut you down
Johnny Blade – Black Sabbath

We’re getting closer to the end folks! This penultimate episode of Billions was the perfect set-up for next week’s finale.

Here at the Trader’s Desk, it’s our day job to see patterns, and we saw several parallels to last season’s E11, Kompenso, so let’s discuss! And in keeping with the parallels, I’ve used the same song to start this post as I did last season’s recap of E11 (just a different verse!). I don’t want to break the pattern! Continue reading “From The Trader’s Desk: “Parallel Lines” Billions S4 Ep11″