Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

Trader's Film Library #11 · Markets and trading in fiction. A sequel that tells the story of people better than the story of the market.

Original title: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps · Type: film · Created by: Oliver Stone · Usefulness for traders: ★★★☆☆

What it's about

Gordon Gekko gets out of prison on the eve of the 2008 crisis. Young trader Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf), engaged to Gekko's daughter, wants to avenge his mentor, whose bank collapsed after a wave of rumours.

What it has to do with markets

The film shows how a rumour can destroy trust in a bank within days and gives a simplified picture of the 2008 crisis. Lots of metaphors (“bubble”, “dominoes”), less concrete market mechanics.

Lessons for traders

• liquidity and trust in institutions can vanish overnight
• a market rumour isn't information: check the source (herding, Atlas of biases #31)
• leverage works both ways

What to watch out for

As a film about the crisis it's much weaker than The Big Short or Margin Call. Better treated as a family drama with Wall Street in the background.

Discussion

The discussion takes place in Hetman Capital Club (in Polish). Join the discussion in the Club →

Navigation

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The description outlines the plot without revealing the ending where possible (true stories have a known outcome). Educational content, not investment advice.