Calculated Risks

International commodity traders thrive on market risks. They operate in a fast-moving world that can be intoxicating and hugely profitable, and suddenly ruinous. There are so many variables—financial strains, economic undercurrents, corporate strategies, political tensions, the natural vagaries of weather—that only the experts thrive for long, and even they can suffer big falls. The novel Calculated Risks follows Charlie Amorello as he gets himself deep into trouble. He is not a bad man. He loves the world of oil and metal traders, and he is good at his work, but not quite as good as he thinks he is. The market trends all look strong, but he and other traders have overlooked the hints of trouble that will lead to a sharp slowdown in global commodity markets. To make matters worse, Charlie Amorello’s company has allied itself with an untrustworthy trading partner that will drag him into deeper trouble. Careers and lives are being wrecked, and Amorello runs the very strong risk of being among the most serious casualties.