| JJ Ingersoll, our head of global focus, looks distraught. I walk into his office where the NFL playoffs dominate his 25 screen info-revolution wall. "Are you running a book on this?" I ask, looking at the spread on the score. JJ rolls his eyes, upwards and onwards, almost beating the elevator to the 85th floor. He passes me an immaculate ready-for-publication piece of paper, topped with the firm's new logo, a harpsichord inside a US dollar sign, and its new global-slogan message, coined by our new head of global scansion, Kristina Onomatopeia-a-Stasis. I look at it: "Banking was founded on a bench in Renaissance Italy," it reads. "Black Knight the art of banking. Call freefone 123-Glasso-Steagallo." Beneath is a disclaimer:This message is not intended to sell you anything. Consult local regulators for details. Corporate headquarters in Delaware. "More of the same", I comment. "No," JJ hisses, "not that client crap the memo beneath." The catchy new slogan and global-image-presence had taken my eye momentarily off the ball, or rather the memo from our chairman, Ace Iceberg, which reads: November 30, 1996. To all general and limited partners, and other liabilities. |