"So this is the kid…"

GEKKO

What the hell is going on?  Well, I’m looking at 200,000 shares being moved, pal, and I want to know if we’re a part of it.  We’d better be, or I’ll come down and eat your lunch for you.

[Different phone line.]  Stu.  I loved it at 40, it’s an insult at 50.  Their analysts don’t know preferred stock from livestock, alright?  Well, wait until it hits south, then we’ll raise the sperm count on the deal, OK?  Back at ya.

[To Bud.]  So this is the kid — calls my office 59 days in a row, wants to be a player.  Oughta be a picture of you in the dictionary under persistence, pal.

[Different phone line.]  Listen, Jerry, I’m looking for negative control.  No more than 30-35%, just enough to block any merger plans and find out from the inside if the books are cooked.  If it’s as good as it looks on paper, we’ll be in the kill zone.  Lunch?  Aw, you gotta be kidding!  Lunch is for wimps!  Talk at you.

BUD

How do you do, Mr. Gekko.  The name’s Bud Fox.

 GEKKO

So you say.  Nice to meet you, I hope you’re intelligent.  Where did you get these?

 BUD

I have a connection at the airport.

 GEKKO

 So, what’s on your mind, kemosabe?  Why am I listening to you?  I have to monitor my blood pressure, so whatever you do, don’t upset me.

 BUD

I just want you to know, Mr. Gekko, that I read all about you at NYU business, and I think you’re an incredible genius.  I’ve always dreamed of one thing — working with a man like you.

GEKKO

What firm you with, pal?

BUD

Jackson Steinham.

GEKKO

Going places.  Good junk bond department.  You did the financing on that Janson investment?

BUD

Yeah, we’re working on some other interesting stuff.

GEKKO

Something to do with a cosmetic company, perhaps?  C’mon, what are you, twelth man on the deal team, last to know?

BUD

I can’t tell you that, Mr. Gekko.

GEKKO

What do you have for me?  Why are you here?

BUD

A chartbuster here.  Whitewood Industries.  Explosive earnings.  A 30% discount at the window…

GEKKO

It’s a dog.

BUD

Very strong management.

GEKKO

It’s a dog, pal.  What else do you have, besides connections at the airport?  Hold on.

[Picks up phone.]  Did he take the deal?  What?  What the hell is Cromwell doing giving a lecture tour when he’s losing $60 million a quarter?  Giving lectures on how to lose money, I guess.  Christ, if this guy owned a funeral parlor, no one would die!  This turkey is totally brain dead!   Alright.  Christmas is over, and business is business.  Keep buying.  Dilute the son of a bitch.

[To Ollie (?)]  Ollie, I want every orifice on that guy flowing red.

[To Bud.]  What else.  What else you got?

BUD

TeraFly.  Analysts don’t like it, I do.  The breakup value is twice the market price.  This deal finances itself.  Sell off two divisions….

GEKKO

That OK, but it’s a dog with different fleas.  C’mon, tell me something I don’t know.  Surprise me, it’s my birthday.

BUD

BlueStar.

GEKKO

What?

BUD

BlueStar Airlines.

GEKKO

Rings a bell.  So what?

BUD

It’s a comer.  Eighty medium body jets, 300 pilots, routes to Canada, the northeast, expansion potential to the southeast and continental.

 GEKKO

I don’t like airlines.  Lousy unions.

BUD

There was a crash last year.  They’re about to get a favorable ruling on a law suit — not even the plaintiffs know yet.

GEKKO

How do you know?

BUD

I just do.  It should clear the way for more planes and route contracts.  There’s not a lot out there, so I’d buy it now.  Should be good for a five point mark.

GEKKO

Interesting.  Gotta card?

BUD

Yes, sir.  Home number’s on the back.

GEKKO

Bud Fox, I look at a hundred deals a day.  I take one.

***

My daily linkfest is up at the Wall Street Journal here:  The Good Leads.

It is my 300th early morning link post for WSJ, a project I work on five days a week while most of my friends and colleagues are slumbering.  I would say “money never sleeps” here…if I were corny 🙂

Thanks for reading and kick some ass today, gang.