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CHICAGO TOPS FOR TRADING: MAGAZINE
Da bears. Da bulls. Da traders. Chicago is the "greatest trading city in the world," according to a survey by Trader Monthly magazine.
The magazine, which is aimed at professional traders and hedge fund managers, ranked 50 cities in an effort to find the ultimate place to live and trade.
The rise of electronic markets had theoretically leveled the global playing field, making it possible to fire off winning trades while enjoying a poolside cocktail in Tahiti.
Still, Chicago, hog butcher to the world and stacker of wheat, beat out the glamorous, the glitzy, the exotic and the tax havens to take the top prize.
London, New York, Dubai and Miami rounded out the top five, in that order.
The magazine said it rated a mixture of work and lifestyle factors, from trading infrastructure, taxes and access to capital to weather, nightlife and time zone.
The latter apparently helped knock Sydney, Australia, the jewel of the South Pacific, to No. 26 on the list, below Philadelphia and only two notches above Minneapolis.
Chicago was praised for its enduring position on the commodities world's front lines. Trading is "in the city's blood," the magazine said.
The two largest U.S. futures marts and the largest U.S. options exchange all reside in the Windy City, and face-to-face trading endures alongside the electronic markets.
Affordable real estate — "practically youth-hostel rates compared to London" — also boosted Chicago while knocking down its two nearest competitors. New York was also rapped for a "deadly tax trifecta": federal, New York state and New York City taxes.
Bringing up the rear at No. 50, Stockholm was cited for beautiful people, ice-fishing — "and not much else."
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