Tag: Bobby Axelrod

“From the Trader’s Desk” Ep. 2: Dead Cat Bounce

Welcome to “From the Trader’s Desk” and my recap of “Dead Cat Bounce”. (I’m just going to say this upfront: I hate that term, but only because I’m a cat momma!)

We open up at the Spartan-Ives sponsored “Thought Leaders” conference, which costs $3,000 to attend. These types of conferences are common, and can be market movers. Certain managers will mention a stock they like (or don’t) and it will move the stock price as they are speaking.

Source: Showtime

Continue reading ““From the Trader’s Desk” Ep. 2: Dead Cat Bounce”

Billions on Showtime 2.02: Dead Cat Bounce

Continuing the rollicking cadence of win/loss and cat/mouse, Billions picks up the pace in an energetic Episode 2.

“Dead Cat Bounce” is  book-ended by a fake smile with handshake on one end and a sincere sneer and handshake on the other, going deeper exactly where we need it to go.

Axe is still a nervous cat, but a merry one, as he publically humiliates arch nemesis du jour, Todd Krakow, in the opening scene and continues throughout the episode to dig the claws deeper into the side of this twerp who tried to steal Wendy from him.

Continue reading “Billions on Showtime 2.02: Dead Cat Bounce”

Billions on Showtime, Season 2, Episode 2: Dead Cat Bounce

That is what you get when you try to poach Axe’s most valuable employee, Todd.

Axe starts picking on Todd’s obviously scripted speech at Spartan-Ives “Global Thought Leaders” panel moderated by Lawrence Boyd. While Krakow’s choice of poet is Pindar, Axe’s seems to be Walt Whitman (who can forget the “barbaric yawp” scene from Dead Poets Society?). Is it just me or does Wags’ smile turn to concern as Axe leaves the room saying Krakow’s “party cocktail tutor” owes him a refund?

source: Showtime

Axe apologizes to Boyd for being a bad boy but Boyd cannot be happier about what just happened. It seems he picked the panel for its entertainment value. The street will talk about this for weeks and whoever was not in the room will make Spartan-Ives their prime broker to be able to attend next year. Axe is not happy about playing “the bull” to Boyd’s “red sash” every time. Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 2, Episode 2: Dead Cat Bounce”

From the Trader’s Desk: “Risk Management”, Episode 1 Season 2 of Billions

Welcome to “From the Trader’s Desk” for the 2nd Season of Billions! The original concept of these posts was to recap of 2-3 episodes from my point of view as a trader, and to help with any confusion with “fin speak”. However, “Risk Management” was so meaty; I had to dive right in. So now, without further ado….

”Trading is gambling, legalized gambling.”

source: Showtime

Those are words I spoke to Damianista on our first meeting. I think she asked me how I got into the financial industry, and I told her I loved to gamble, and found a way to do it legally.

How fitting then is it that we open Season 2 with Axe sitting at a racetrack! Now, I’ll admit, I didn’t know it was Yonkers Raceway. I thought it was Belmont Park, a place my grandfather would take me to as a kid. Axe tells Bach “this place made me”, and I totally understand. Continue reading “From the Trader’s Desk: “Risk Management”, Episode 1 Season 2 of Billions”

Billions on Showtime 2.01: Risk Management

By now, you’ve seen Billions S2 opener, “Risk Management” and have probably read Damianista’s excellent episode recap. Now, from me, you’ll get some of the “emotional truth” in this episode.

Bobby is a spiral of disordered nervous energy. When he stands in front of his people, in what is ostensibly a morale building exercise, there’s a tension to him that wasn’t there when he climbed on top of file cabinets last season and mobilized the minions to batten down the hatches when he first found out he was under investigation. This time, it seems to be a combination of him standing in the dark in front of a lit but otherwise blank screen and a certain air to his words that make you wonder if he even believes what he’s saying. He’s primed for battle, but in a sort of unprepared, grasping-at-straws way.

Even though Bobby didn’t suffer anything more than the self-inflicted destruction of his offices, revenge must be exacted. Leave it to the Billions writers to never come at Chuck one simple way. They seem to coax out ways to hurt Chuck via lovely twists in prior events that you thought were meant to never touch him. Continue reading “Billions on Showtime 2.01: Risk Management”