You are here:

Synopsis

This episode of current affairs show Close Up offers a fascinating portrait of 80s job du jour: foreign exchange dealer. The intrepid reporter heads into "the pit" (trading room) and chronicles the working life of a senior 'forex' dealer, 25-year-old squash-playing accountancy graduate, John Key. The "smiling assassin" (and future Prime Minister) is a now-familiar calm and earnest presence amongst the young cowboys playing for fortunes and Porsches in the heady pre-sharemarket crash world: "they're like addicts who eat, breathe and sleep foreign exchange dealing".

Credits (6)

 John Keir
 Clive Litt
 John Key

Post a comment

   
I am:
 

Please keep your comments relevant to this title. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

Comments (18)

 tim

tim

the haircuts match the theme music!

 sam

sam

john key is obviously the devil ;)

 Daniel

Daniel

I'm not sure what use foreign exchange trading is for a PM. I would rather have someone who understands people and the impact of his policies rather than someone who knows how to short the currency.

 Taika

Taika

Great video, he comes across really well. To be able to make those educated decisions at the drop of a hat is impressive. And I liked the way he answered the questions about his salary and losses, even though his track record and salary were probably right up there he wouldn't be lured into bragging about it.
An ideal background for a PM to have, someone that understands economies, critical thinker, handles pressure and stress. For the people that say 'who wants a greedy PM that only cares about money?' do you really think people become PM for the pay packet? I'm sure it's a drop in the bucket compared to his previous job. And yeah, I would want someone who understands world economies and can make the right decisions to keep our country afloat ( check out Greece, Italy and Ireland right now, yikes).
I wouldn't be interested in having someone 'who's just like us' as PM, the common man would be too short sighted and send the country broke after their term was up. Like what Labour was on their way to doing with ACC, etc.

 Paul Ward

Paul Ward

@Ted: that dropkick would be me (possibly it was all the squash, champagne and waterbeds that made me dozy). After re-watching the clip, I've changed 'breathless' to 'intrepid' ... cheers

Show 5 more comments

Produced by

Source

Favourite:

You need to be logged in to add to your favourites.

Related Titles (11)

 Gloss

Television, 1987

More 80s money and excess

 Gliding On

Television, 1981

A less-pressured 80s office environment

 Revolution (part three) - The Great Divide

Television, 1996 (Full Length Episode)

Political and economic history series featuring the sharemarket crash

 Revolution

Television, 1996

Series on the political and economic context of the time

 Someone Else's Country

Film, 1996 (Full Length)

A polar opposite perspective on the market

 Dead Certs

Television, 1995 (Excerpts)

Gambling with less remuneration

 Open Door - Problem Gambling

Television, 2009 (Full Length)

Gambling gone bad

 Every Second Counts - 8 October 1987

Television, 1987 (Full Length Episode)

Another 'Before They Were Famous' flashback

 The Hollow Men

Television, 2008 (Full Length)

Documentary about 2005 Election includes John Key

 The Listener Gofta Awards 1987

Television, 1987 (Excerpts)

Another time-warp to the pre-crash 80s

 Hometown Boomtown

Television, 1983 (Full Length)

More Wellington 80s excess

Collections.   See all collections ›  

Included in:

 Politics
 Greatest Hits

Quotes

It’s the sort of job where you can come to work in a BMW but if you make a million dollar mistake during the day then, as far as the boss is concerned, you can go home on the bus. 
When the boys arrive in the morning, it’s a bit me like me throwing raw meat into the pit [trading room] ... and saying ‘eat that then go out there and kill them’. 
John has an uncanny ability to know when to hold positions and when to cut positions ... he seems to have a sixth sense about where the market is about to move to.