Top 10 Movies with a Financial Lesson: 1-2

With the upcoming premiere of the film “Wall Street – Money Never Sleeps” it got me thinking about movies with some kind of financial lesson.  The financial side of making films hasalways intrigued me.  This year’s Oscars were yet again proof that the biggest budget doesn’t always give the best ROI.  In 2010, the lowest grossing Oscar winning film in history – The Hurt Locker – beat out the highest grossing picture in history – Avatar.

Here’s my list of the top 10 movies ever made that have a financial lesson inside of them.

2.  Wall Street (1987) – “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good”.  This line by ruthless corporate raider, Gordon Gekko, summed up the business ethics of the 1980s, when greed, corruption and the predatory nature of the financial world was at its most conspicuous.  The film charts the ascent of a young, ambitious stockbroker who’s taken under Gekko’s wing and struggles with whether it’s better to have money or integrity.  Gekko is the embodiment of corporate malfeasance, but also portrayed as a business guru.  His glamor and power probably inspired a lot of young men to enter investment banking over the last two decades. As Gekko said, “It’s all about bucks, kid. The rest is conversation.”

Lesson:  Greed is good.  What’s worth doing is worth doing for money.  Lunch is for wimps.  If you need a friend, buy a dog.  So goes the wisdom of Gordon Gekko, ruthless investor, legendary financier – and the star of one of the best movies ever made about money.  This film also provides a great backdrop to the landscape that led to the financial crisis of 2008.

1.  Boiler Room (2000) – A college dropout gets a job and enjoys fast success at a brokerage house selling phony stock.  However, the job turns out not be as legit as it sounds.  This film is mix of Wall Street and Glengarry Glen Ross thrown in.  Although there’s no character here that can compare to Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gekko.

Lesson:  Great morality lesson dealing with the desire to get rich quick, regardless of the consequences.

Don’t be a stranger leave a comment below and let me know what you think or send them to my Twitter. Also remember to sign up for Stocks on Wall Street’s Monthly Newsletter.

Wall Street’s Manipulative Behavior

Wall Street and Main Street are on Completely Different Levels

Last week I wrote about whether or not the recession was truly over with the intentions on getting your point of view first (Here is the link to the previous article), now here is what I think.

Wall Street and Main Street are on Completely Different Levels

Just because Mr. Bernanke says the recession is over has no actual correlation to the real standing of the economy. Yes, he may be the head of the Federal Reserve but his statement last week didn’t connect with many Americans. Yes the economy is improving, yet we are nowhere near our optimal level of production. I think the huge problem and something Bernanke hasn’t realized is that there is a huge disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street. On Wall Street we are acting like these are prosperous times with stock prices soaring, banks improving, and big bonuses being handed out. Though when you bring it back to Main Street and the level of the average American we are struggling to make ends meet. Unemployment levels are at frightening levels, housing prices are at an all-time low, and the average person is being further pushed into debt. The big problem I have with the health of the economy is the psychological aspect of the economy. On Wall Street now the excitement is rolling with the soaring markets. However across the

nation, the recession mentality is holding strong and it’s not a good one at that. This mentality has taken a direct hit on retail as consumer spending is down significantly this year. Most Americans are cutting back on discretionary spending and are planning on continuing this habit, which I see as a huge hit to the resurgence in the economy. If the economy continues to not facet a healthy recovery then elections in 2010 will become interesting. History has shown us a low unemployment rate directly hurts the party in power. This bodes well for the Republican Party, as it’s very likely we could see the Democrats lose a significant amount of congressional seats. What the government needs to realize is everything they are doing now is completely wrong. People are tired of hearing excuses they just want to see results. Plus the constant push of the healthcare bill is not helping his party either. To facilitate a strong recovery Obama needs to forgo his health care reform and create new jobs. He needs to create new industries that can thrive throughout the next century. All spending should go towards high-tech, environmentally friendly jobs. Investments in huge capital expenditures and public projects.