Bunhill: Derivatives

A COMPULSIVE and at times bizarre directory has landed on my desk. Called Who's Who in Derivatives, it gives the low- down on those intolerably bright young things (almost all are in their twenties and thirties) who spend their lives trading in the esoteric world of swaps and share options. The directory, published by Risk Magazine, puts the better- known Who's Who in the shade. Take Tim Hanford of Midland Montagu. He is 28, single, works in Mexico City, likes skiing and climbing, reads Umberto Eco, listens to the flute and horn, lists Escher as his favourite artist, eats sushi, rates Le Petit Prince in Kentish Town for couscous, and reads Stern. Or David Johannesen of the Prudential Insurance Company of America. Married, with two children, he lives in New York, counts his psychiatrist as his biggest influence, listens to Poulenc, and eats at Upstairs, Downstairs in Bahrain.