Speaking of ancient history, it is almost precisely a decade since I started my ‘career’ in journalism. I was given my first break by Sunni Tucker, who now writes for the Financial Times but who back then edited the City Diary in the UK national The Daily Telegraph. On one occasion, I was called into his office by the newspaper’s City editor and asked to explain what a nostro account was. When I said it meant ‘our account’ he shouted at me that he had done Latin at school and he knew what it meant but didn’t understand what it was.
After, Sunni apologised to me, which surprised me. Having started my working life as a broker, being shouted at was no big thing. In fact, I’d hardly even noticed it. In other words, although journalists have an image for being rougher than rough, it’s just that, an image. In contrast, those who cut their teeth in the FX market tend to be tougher than tough. Or at least they used to. It astonishes me how sensitive some people are in the market these days, especially when you question what they are up to.