LEO MELAMED - Books - FOR CRYING OUT LOUD

Leo Melamed: For Crying Out Loud

For Crying Out Loud Cover History is filled with new ideas and inventions that were once so revolutionary that they were initially rejected by the establishment. Milton Friedman defined this as the "tyranny of the status quo." But the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, now CME Group Inc., consistently defied the status quo to become a poster child for change. From the introduction of trading in live animals in the 1960s to electronic trade supplanting of open outcry in the 1990s, the CME has consistently been on the cutting edge of innovation in defiance of the status quo.

Author Leo Melamed is the father of modern futures markets and the person largely responsible for making the CME Group the success it is today. He is to futures what Thomas Edison was to the use of electricity. Now, in For Crying Out Loud, Melamed covers not only the revolutionary developments in futures markets since his previous book, but also the battles, personalities, and strategies that transformed the futures markets from the open outcry birth to the electronic future---where technological and global issues are interwoven with financial markets.

Throughout these pages, Melamed discusses the values to companies and countries of a market that can hedge almost any risk, as well as the resulting benefits to the standard of living of people around the world. He also examines how financial futures have allowed investors to manage generalized risks, such as currency risk, to both reduce exposure or capture increased profits within a market structure that is free from failures and current debt-laden problems. Along the way, you'll become familiar with the trends, technology, and products that have shaped the world of futures and options, and discover what this dynamic and demanding industry may look like in the years ahead.

In the midst of the unprecedented global financial meltdown---as marquee names from Merrill Lynch to AIG faltered or failed---the CME performed its operational functions with a hitch. How has the "house that pork bellies built" achieved such a record of unparalleled success? How has it grown from a modest exchange trading livestock futures to become the colossal global powerhouse of futures and options it is today? It's all right here For Crying Out Loud!

In Praise of
FOR CRYING OUT LOUD

"Endowed with strong parents and a bit of luck, Leo Melamed has made a remarkable escape from Nazi occupied Poland to building one of the pinnacles of global finance. Over four decades and more, he was the leading force in bringing his beloved "Merc" from obscure trading pits for butter and eggs, and pork bellies to a model of electronic efficiency, handling billions of financial contracts, almost instantaneously with certainty of execution. Leo's pride in the Merc's safeguards against risk are justified by its sustained market performance in the midst of the financial crisis. For Crying Out Loud is not only a fascinating human story, but a remarkable tale of spurring innovation within a framework of prudence."

--Paul A. Volcker

Leo Melamed has written an adventure story worthy of Hemingway. It's also a spy thriller and historic chronicle. It is the defining account of modern change that comes to an industry as old as Bedouins trading sheep on a dusty rock. Seen from the ultimate insider, we glimpse a world unseen and unknown to most of us. It is a very important work that could become a business school bible."

--Bill Kurtis, Kurtis Productions, Ltd.

"Leo Melamed provides a brilliant description and analysis of the history and evolution of Globex, the CME's electronic trading platform that transformed the way futures are traded around the world. He combines political intrigue, cooperative collations, tradeoffs between personal and combined wealth incentives, and innovative ideas necessary to change the course of history of the CME. With myriad possible outcomes along the way, his story reads at times like a wondrous mystery novel. Congratulations on a marvelous book."