The moment I heard it I knew it was Moshe Kaplan phoning from Johannesburg. He sounded positively upset. Not only was his son going out with a shiksa, but his financial advisor had told him to short the euro. It never rains but it pours. I felt Moshe was ready to pluck out his beard.
Moshe, I said, already last week it was an overcrowded trade. There was bound to be short covering. Then the Europeans managed to place their public debt with ease and consumer confidence in the US fell sharply. When the yield on the 10-year Treasury Note started going down, your financial genius should have got you out of that trade. Unless he was on the other side of it, in which case he is just a gonif.
He sighed from the depths of Africa. Then he asked me whether he should get a lawyer.
Moshe! Moshe, I shouted in anguish, why be robbed twice within a week? What you need to do is to approach the guys at the ANC Youth League. They are young, bright and full of ideas. Maybe they can show you how to make a fast buck.
