Daily Archives: August 13, 2012

Business

Lifelong Passion for Dance Revealed in The Star’s Up Close & Personal with Edgar Perez

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Edgar Perez, Author, ‘The Speed Traders’ and ‘Knightmare on Wall Street’, and Course Director, The Speed Traders Workshop 2012, Reveals Passion for Dance in ‘Up Close & Personal with Edgar Perez’ with The Star.

New York City, NY, USA (August 13, 2012) — “The combined forces of speed and technology are turning the stock market into a different animal from the days of our fathers and mothers with small retail players being the casualties of the sweeping changes, particularly in the West. This is the dark side of technology which cannot be ignored but which must be managed by regulators.” That’s how journalist Thean Lee Cheng starts her profile of Edgar Perez, author of The Speed Traders, An Insider’s Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World (published in English by McGraw-Hill Inc., 2011, and Mandarin by China Financial Publishing House, 2012) for The Star, Malaysia’s largest newspaper in terms of circulation. The profile is available online at http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/5/19/business/11272484.

Perez revealed a passion for salsa and hustle dancing. While salsa needs to no further introduction, hustle dancing might; it refers to the unique partner dance done in ballrooms and nightclubs to disco music, and it is also commonly referred as ‘New York Hustle’ or ‘Latin Hustle’. In fact, Perez has been known to frequent some of the most popular disco parties in New York City; a video of Perez dancing to the hustle has been uploaded to his Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/AmericasUltimateNetworker.

Cheng went onto inquiring about Perez’s thoughts on speed trading. “High-frequency trading is computer executed trading. Humans are slow by comparison, when identifying the different markets and location and products. It is a field for technology, which is fluid, fast and is able to complete a deal in milliseconds. Let us assume you are interested to sell 500 IBM shares. You are only interested to get your cash immediately. However, selling IBM is not a unique event. Its stock is a component of exchange-traded funds, and is a component of Standard & Poor’s indexes. There are also derivatives which rely on IBM stocks. If I sell IBM, there will be pressure on price, which affects the options and derivatives markets. All these changes take time to compute. Computer can detect the impact of the sale and is able to calculate the next price of the derivatives and options compared with the current price. This happens even before the price is adjusted.”

“It is computers that accelerate the change, be it good or bad. Computers are rationale but people are emotional. Out of emotions, humans may sell a big order, but it is computers that accelerate the decline, says Perez. The impact of this is tremendous on regulators. They are struggling to regulate the market and facing a huge challenge in this new and changing financial system, says Perez. This was clearly seen in the flash crash of May 2010 when the US stock market lost nearly 1,000 points in 20 minutes before it recovered. There were no circuit breakers then. It took the regulators nearly five months to analyze the data and generate a solution, he recalls.”

Perez’s first book, The Speed Traders. “a clear and informative read that can be useful to both seasoned industry professionals and those who are only exploring the financial industry”, has confirmed him as the preeminent global expert in the specialized area of high-frequency trading. Perez has led The Speed Traders Workshop 2012, How High Frequency Traders Leverage Profitable Strategies to Find Alpha in Equities, Options, Futures and FX, http://www.TheSpeedTradersWorkshop.com, (Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Warsaw, Kiev, New York, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Ho Chi Minh, New York, Dubai and Chicago), and was Adjunct Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, where he taught Algorithmic Trading and High-Frequency Finance. He contributes regularly to China’s International Finance News.

Perez has been interviewed on CNBC Cash Flow, CNBC Squawk Box, BNN Business Day, CCTV China, Bankier.pl, TheStreet.com, Leaderonomics, GPW Media, Channel NewsAsia Business Tonight and Cents & Sensibilities. In addition, Perez has been featured on Caixin, Futures Daily, Xinhua, CBN Newswire, Chinese Financial News, ifeng.com, International Finance News, hexun.com, Finance.QQ.com, Finance.Sina.com, The Korea Times, The Korea Herald, The Star, BMF 89.9, iMoney Hong Kong, CNBC, Bloomberg Hedge Fund Brief, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Valor Econômico, FIXGlobal Trading, TODAY Online, Oriental Daily News and Business Times.

Perez has been engaged to present to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Washington DC), CFA Singapore, Hong Kong Securities Institute, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, University of International Business and Economics (Beijing), Hult International Business School (Shanghai) and Pace University (New York), among other public and private institutions. In addition, Perez has spoken at a number of global conferences, including Harvard Business School’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference (Boston), High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum (New York, Chicago), MIT Sloan Investment Management Conference (Cambridge), Institutional Investor’s Global Growth Markets Forum (London), Technical Analysis Society (Singapore), TradeTech Asia (Singapore), FIXGlobal Face2Face (Seoul) and Private Equity Convention Russia, CIS & Eurasia (London).

Perez was a vice president at Citigroup, a senior consultant at IBM, and a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co. in New York City. Perez has an undergraduate degree from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Peru (1994), a Master of Administration from Universidad ESAN, Lima, Peru (1997) and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, New York, with a dual major in Finance and Management (2002). He belongs to the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. Perez resides in the New York City area.

Finally, Perez revealed the names of three people he admires: Mother Theresa, Henry Kravis (who also attended his alma mater, Columbia Business School), and Bill Gates. While these outstanding individuals are not in the high-frequency trading world, no doubt they have provided Perez an inspiration as he embarks on the path to be recognized as “author, global entrepreneur and consultant, go-getter”.

Media Contact:
Julia Petrova
Media Relations Coordinator
The Speed Traders
516-761-4712
jpetrova@thespeedtraders.com
http://www.thespeedtraders.com

Travel

Vietnam’s First Tour Operator Targets GLBT Tourism Market

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Luxury Travel Ltd. announces new bespoke holidays for upscale gay and lesbian travelers to Vietnam.

Hanoi, Vietnam, August 13, 2012 — Vietnam has become a popular niche market for gay and lesbian travelers. Gay and lesbian travelers are increasingly becoming the focus of tour companies as the tourism industry looks to put the woes of the global financial crisis behind it. Luxury Travel Ltd. announces new bespoke holidays for upscale gay and lesbian travelers to Vietnam.

Vietnam-based Luxury Travel Ltd. is a long established Asian specialist in the art of travel and serves today’s most sophisticated travelers, with luxury privately guided and fully bespoke holidays in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.

According to Luxury Travel’s experts, gay family travel, same-sex weddings and honeymoon breaks in Vietnam that allow gay marriage have been a recent focus. The tourism industry is becoming more and more aware of the potential of high-end gay travelers, as the majority has no children and therefore often have more disposable income. Therefore, they often have more time and money and can travel whenever they wish, even in this global financial climate.

Luxury Travel Ltd. taps this market and promotes luxury and bespoke travel experiences and is very friendly to gay and lesbian travelers, from tour guides to drivers and all representatives.

“A few years ago, GLBT was considered a niche market and now it is really being considered a segment in and of itself. We add focus on the gay and lesbian market in order to properly train our staff and deliver the expected service. We make them feel welcome and the same as all other travelers.” said Pham Ha, founder and CEO of Luxury Travel Ltd.

Luxury Travel Ltd. is the first tour company in Vietnam (http://www.luxurytravelvietnam.com) offering niche tours for not only couples, but also for upscale singles. This travel company also offers tailor made spa and adventure themed luxury escapes.

The incredible itineraries that are chosen are to amazing places, and leave visitors feeling like they actually have more than enough time to absorb the experience and really do what guests want to do, rather than feeling hurried and rushed as with traditional tours offered by other travel companies.

“Quietly, Vietnam has become a popular niche market for gay tourists. Ho Chi Minh City former Saigon is particularly welcoming,” said David Nguyen, Sales and Marketing Manager of Luxury Travel Ltd.

He also says that it’s all because of the locals’ friendly attitude: “People living here have a very open approach to gay people. The Vietnamese government also wants to legalize same sex marriage in the country.”

David reveals that his company receives more and more custom tours from gay and lesbian travelers worldwide. They prefer to stay in the top luxury hotels and resorts and are big spenders, with 99% happy to recommend Luxury Travel Ltd.’s services to their friends and colleagues.

“We had a wonderful trip in Vietnam and all accommodations and tour guides were fantastic. We enjoyed all the sights included in our schedule as well as all meals planned by Luxury Travel, so thank you! I will definitely recommend Luxury Travel Ltd to all my family and friends. Let me stress that all guides and hotel employees were very respectful, kind, and professional and we have no complaints against any individual we encountered. Your company went above and beyond our expectations and we couldn’t be more pleased with the service we received,” said Julie and Valerie, satisfied clients of Luxury Travel Company from New Orleans, LA, USA.

The website to go view wonderful selections of inspirational luxury trips is http://www.luxurytravelvietnam.com. Further, guests can be connected directly via email to luxury travel advisors at advisor@luxurytravelvietnam.com for special interest or custom tours.

Media Contact:
Doan Hong Linh (Ms.)
Marketing Executive
Luxury Travel Ltd
05 Nguyen Truong To Str.,
Ba Dinh Dist, Hanoi 84444
Vietnam
+ 84.4.39274120 Ext 122
marketing3@luxurytravelvietnam.com
http://www.LuxuryTravelVietnam.com

Business

New Book by The Speed Traders Edgar Perez to Cure Investors Knightmare on Wall Street

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Edgar Perez, Author, The Speed Traders, and Course Director, The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 (Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Warsaw, Kiev, New York, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Ho Chi Minh, New York, Dubai and Chicago) to Bring New Book that will Cure Investors’ “Knightmare on Wall Street”.

New York City, NY, USA (August 13, 2012) — Edgar Perez, author of The Speed Traders and global speaker on the topics of high-frequency trading and investing, is back at work with the forthcoming Knightmare on Wall Street: Do Facebook’s Botched IPO and Knight Capital’s Technology Error Mark the Beginning of the End of Equities Investing? (http://www.KnightmareonWallStreet.com).

Knightmare on Wall Street will provide a comprehensive look at current market structure, including the earth-shaking reforms that were brought by the SEC in the equities world. It will begin by looking at the traditional model that was dominated by the New York Stock Exchange, the SEC’s effort to create an advanced national market system to ensure that orders get the best available pricing and the emergence of alternative trading systems and dark pools. After a detailed explanation of headline-grabbing incidents, starting with the Flash Crash, the Pipeline Trading’ SEC investigation, the failed BATS IPO, the botched Facebook IPO and, ultimately, what has been called, the “Knightmare on Wall Street”, involving Knight Capital’s trading system malfunction.

The reader of Knightmare on Wall Street will come away with a thorough understanding of the history of market structure in the U.S. equities world and the contrasting viewpoints about the impact of regulation and technology, and why the author believes that the sky is not falling, and we are instead experimenting the initial hiccups of what will be a new era of investing and trading in the U.S. that will be adopted around the world.

Reviews for Perez’s first title, The Speed Traders, which was published in English by McGraw-Hill Inc. and in Mandarin by China Financial Publishing House, were overwhelmingly positive. “The Speed Traders, written by Edgar Perez, offers cutting-edge intelligence on the relatively concealed industry of High-Frequency Trading. The substantial foundation of HFT is laid out and combined with thorough interviews to make sense of the complicated technicalities in HFT. Perez gives the whole picture by critically defining HFT, charting its inconspicuous emanation into the securities market, breaking down the flash crash of 2010, forecasting the indisputable role that HFT will play in the financial world, and perhaps most importantly, walking the reader through 6 different evaluations with actual high frequency traders.”

“The interviews were the most valuable asset in making this industry understandable. The first person narrative is key because it’s easy to comprehend and relatively scarce in current literature for many reasons, two of which are that traders are reluctant to disclose strategies on generating alpha and the barriers of entry to the HFT industry are so high that there is only a limited amount of traders that actually know what they are talking about. Readers searching for break-through information on HFT have met their match because The Speed Traders is in a class of its own. Its exceptionally designed equilibrium between fleshed-out mentorship and historical HFT knowledge delivers core comprehension of a challenging topic.”

Perez is widely regarded as the preeminent global expert in the specialized area of high-frequency trading. Perez is course director of The Speed Traders Workshop 2012, How High Frequency Traders Leverage Profitable Strategies to Find Alpha in Equities, Options, Futures and FX, http://www.TheSpeedTradersWorkshop.com, (Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Warsaw, Kiev, New York, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Ho Chi Minh, New York, Dubai and Chicago), and was Adjunct Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, where he taught Algorithmic Trading and High-Frequency Finance. He contributes regularly to China’s International Finance News.

Perez has been interviewed on CNBC Cash Flow, CNBC Squawk Box, BNN Business Day, CCTV China, Bankier.pl, TheStreet.com, Leaderonomics, GPW Media, Channel NewsAsia Business Tonight and Cents & Sensibilities. In addition, Perez has been featured on Caixin, Futures Daily, Xinhua, CBN Newswire, Chinese Financial News, ifeng.com, International Finance News, hexun.com, Finance.QQ.com, Finance.Sina.com, The Korea Times, The Korea Herald, The Star, BMF 89.9, iMoney Hong Kong, CNBC, Bloomberg Hedge Fund Brief, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Valor Econômico, FIXGlobal Trading, TODAY Online, Oriental Daily News and Business Times.

Perez has been engaged to present to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Washington DC), CFA Singapore, Hong Kong Securities Institute, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, University of International Business and Economics (Beijing), Hult International Business School (Shanghai) and Pace University (New York), among other public and private institutions. In addition, Perez has spoken at a number of global conferences, including Harvard Business School’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference (Boston), High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum (New York, Chicago), MIT Sloan Investment Management Conference (Cambridge), Institutional Investor’s Global Growth Markets Forum (London), Technical Analysis Society (Singapore), TradeTech Asia (Singapore), FIXGlobal Face2Face (Seoul) and Private Equity Convention Russia, CIS & Eurasia (London).

Perez was a vice president at Citigroup, a senior consultant at IBM, and a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co. in New York City. Perez has an undergraduate degree from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Peru (1994), a Master of Administration from Universidad ESAN, Lima, Peru (1997) and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, New York, with a dual major in Finance and Management (2002). He belongs to the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. Perez resides in the New York City area and is an accomplished salsa and hustle dancer.

Media Contact:
Julia Petrova
Media Relations Coordinator
The Speed Traders
516-761-4712
jpetrova@thespeedtraders.com
http://www.thespeedtraders.com