Zero-Sum Game - by Erika S Olson (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In 2007, the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ended their bitter, century-long rivalry and merged to form CME Group. The combined company went on to acquire the New York Mercantile Exchange in 2008, and now dominates regulated futures trading with a 95% share of the U.S. market. The Zero-Sum Game: The Rise of the World's Largest Derivatives Exchange and its Influence on the Global Economy tells the gripping (and often comical) story of the multi-billion-dollar bidding war that erupted between financial giants as they fought for control of CBOT. Through the lens of the historic CME/CBOT deal, the book: Introduces the colorful and outspoken personalities who call the shots in this close-knit and frequently misunderstood industry. Details the reasons behind the recent, spectacular growth of a market that's existed for over 160 years. Explains how derivatives affect the lives of average consumers worldwide by influencing everything from interest rates on credit cards to the cost of a cheeseburger to the price of a gallon of gas. Reveals the inner workings of futures exchanges, and differentiates the various types of derivatives that are routinely lumped together and vilified by the media. Erika Olson is a former managing director of the Chicago Board of Trade and spent over ten years working in and consulting to the financial services industry. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business."--

Book Synopsis

In 2007, a stranger-than-fiction multibillion-dollar bidding war for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) erupted between the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Atlanta's IntercontinentalExchange (ICE). Zero-Sum Game: The Rise of the World's Largest Derivatives Exchange takes readers behind the scenes of this battle to tell the gripping--and often comical--story of how the historic merger between CME and CBOT almost didn't happen.

Author Erika S. Olson, a managing director at CBOT during the bidding war, delivers a blow-by-blow account of the fight for the world's oldest futures exchange, taking you inside CBOT's landmark Chicago Loop headquarters, onto the high-octane trading floor, and into executives' offices.

Through the lens of the CME/CBOT deal, Zero-Sum Game

• Introduces the colorful and outspoken personalities who call the shots in this close-knit and frequently misunderstood industry
• Details the reasons behind the recent, spectacular growth of a market that's existed for over 160 years
• Explains how derivatives affect the lives of average consumers worldwide by influencing everything from interest rates on credit cards to the cost of a cheeseburger to the price of a gallon of gas
• Reveals the inner workings of futures exchanges, and differentiates the various types of derivatives that are routinely lumped together and vilified by the media

Erika S. Olson is a former managing director of the Chicago Board of Trade and spent over ten years working in and consulting to the financial services industry. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

From the Back Cover

In 2007, a stranger-than-fiction multibillion-dollar bidding war for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) erupted between the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Atlanta's Inter-continentalExchange (ICE). Zero-Sum Game: The Rise of the World's Largest Derivatives Exchange takes readers behind the scenes of this battle to tell the gripping, and often comical, story of how the historic merger between CME and CBOT almost didn't happen. Author Erika S. Olson--a former managing director at CBOT--reveals why these bitter crosstown enemies put aside more than a century of bad blood in order to form CME Group, a behemoth that now controls 98 percent of the regulated futures market in the United States. From fast food, electricity, and interest rates, to building materials, jewelry, and gas, the prices of countless products and services that companies and consumers use every day are influenced by contracts traded at CME Group.

Olson delivers a blow-by-blow account of the fight for the world's oldest futures exchange, taking you inside CBOT's landmark Chicago Loop headquarters, past security guards, onto the high-octane trading floor, and into executives' offices. Along the way, she makes the inner workings of futures exchanges accessible by explaining what these institutions do, how futures contracts work, and who benefits from investing in derivatives. She also provides background and insight on the men in control of this powerful, tight-knit, and frequently misunderstood industry.

Zero-Sum Game is the incredible inside story of how the world's largest and most diverse exchange came to be, how the creation of CME Group forever altered the landscape of the financial services industry, and what it all means for the global economy . . . and you.

About the Author

ERIKA S. OLSON is a business consultant, financial writer, and blogger, and was a managing director at the Chicago Board of Trade during the bidding war between CME and ICE. She holds a BBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and an MBA from Harvard Business School.