We shouldn't be so surprised that firms are behaving like obsessive gamblers with a newfound inheritance and a first-class ticket to Las Vegas. After all, these are the same individuals who drove us into the economic ditch into the first place. Even as a few CEOs and chairmen vacate their corner offices in well-compensated disgrace, the remaining executives don't blink when they receive new funds with little to no strings attached.
As headlines decry multi-billion-dollar frauds, asset managers faking their own deaths, and truly stricken financial advisors taking their own lives, we also have news that the former head of Merrill Lynch attempted to pay bonuses to senior staff while his office was undergoing a $1.2 million makeover. Are there truly people out there who don't realize we are in a recession? Look no further than Inauguration Day. On a freezing but sunny day last month, the first African-American was sworn in as US president. The Dow responded by dropping more than 300 points. This recession is even stubbornly resistant to history, regardless of how uplifting it may be.
What does this crisis mean for financial services technologists? For those lucky enough to have kept their jobs, these are certainly busy times. IT projects must continue apace, teams need to be inspired to reach deadlines without collapsing, and budgets and deadlines must be met even if the headlines look more dire by the day. With fewer staffers to complete these tasks, it's a good time to be a project manager or a consultant. If anyone can survive this recession, it's the men and women who can think their way through a problem.
In this issue, Waters looks at the new prime-brokerage options for hedge funds, a survey on the latest trends in messaging technology and how Asian firms are handling an unforgiving global recession. We are pleased to present a special report-sponsored by Otkritie-that focuses on the state of financial IT Russia. In a global economy, it's important to see the big picture.
Editor Phil Albinus
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