http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/business/07hedge.html?_r=1&ref=business&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin

Please don't tell rufus goofus - nothing negative ever happens in "The Paris of the Midwest."

chicago is no paris, but it is a nice city. once a chicagoan, i am now a new yorker who enjoys and appreciates their differences. i cannot compare apples and oranges. i am in the hedge fund industry in new york and can say that as far as hedge funds go, new york is no different in this circumstance.

it's sad that citadel is struggling. but this is true for hedge funds in general, not just citadel. in terms of overall devastation though, there is no doubt that NYC is getting hammered harder than Chicago.

It's quite disturbing that Kenny Griffin won't comment. Sounds much more serious than they're letting on.

well, the entire industry is struggling. but Chicago has diversified into other fields, so it won't be affected nearly as much as NYC. the next several years will be extremely unpleasant for NYC.

thar she blows!!!!

finance professionals in NYC would KILL to have the chance to work at citadel. every trader i know at goldman got rejected at citadel.

rufus is trying to unload his condo in Chicago. No takers!

> every trader i know at goldman got rejected at citadel.

OK, we've crossed a line from stupidity into fantasy land here.

"Never argue with a drunk or a fool".

Bye.

citadel is indeed the place to work..not that i am at all an advocate of chicago. he imports a lot of his traders from foreign markets. the fact that he gets people from paris, london, nyc, etc. to move to chicago for a year (about the average time to firing) is proof of the value of having citadel on your resume.

I was going with "starve rufus", but the correct response to
> every trader i know at goldman got rejected at citadel.
is
All zero of them?

eah, people do indeed leave those cities to work at citadel because of its reputation and prestige. Working there is definitely more valuable for your resume than working at goldman or a NYC hedge fund.

rufus, what do you want?

lol nice one alanhart.

doofus is almost right though, goldman prop desks are (well used to be) great, but you can't really compare the whole firm to hedge funds since goldman and other investment banks participate in other businesses (and do them well). also citadel base pay sucks and ny has de shaw and rentech.

gumball, de shaw and rentech are the only NYC financial firms that can even compete with citadel. also, your comment on base salary is way off. citadel's ANALYSTS straight out of college make 80K base, while comparable positions in NYC only pay 65K base. Given the lower cost of living, citadel employees are doing way better than those in NYC. Please get your facts straight; it is clear though that you know nothing about finance.

gumball, please keep in mind that rufus is generally blacklisted on streeteasy. Limit your replies to ad homoman attacks on him.

For example, you can answer "inquirer's" query to rufie on rufie's behalf.

doofus that's funny cuz i'm a vp at a prop desk and afaik a comparable position at citadel pay sucks. if you are correct, they must've increased the pay in recent years, since about 6 years ago when they made an offer it was mid 50s. analysts make sh*t for salary anyway, but i guess you know that better than i.

Food Stamp Crunch Intensifies
Chicago Residents Struggling To Make Ends Meet Rush To Get Groceries On The First

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/02/eveningnews/main4228012.shtml

Chicago unemployment - 7.1%

NYC unemployment 5.9%

Crime rates - lower numbers are better

Chicago NYC
845 Burglary 271
2930 Larceny/Theft 1412
763 Motor Vehicle Theft 195
24 Arson 0
4539 Property Crime 1879
16 Murder/Manslaughter 7
555 Robbery 287
610 Aggravated Assault 329

Let's recap. Citadel is crumbling, the masses in Chicago are struggling to buy grocceries with food stamps, the unemployment is exponentially growing and the crime is out of control.

Game, set, match. Thanks for playing Rufus. You did your best to pump-up Chicago, but you didn't have a whole lot to work with. Enjoy your parting gifts - a Pizzeria Uno deep dish pie and Cubs tickets to all of the Worl Series they have won since 1908. Enjoy living in Hammond. It seems like it is safer than Chicago.

gumball, i can assure you that a vp at citadel, especially traders and portfolio managers, make more money than you. i know 2 traders at citadel who are in their late 20's, and one made 500K including bonus while the other made around 650K. And this was in a mediocre year, nonetheless.

moreover, chicago has lower taxes and a lower cost of living, so take that into account, and these guys are doing better than the vast majority of NYC people.

again--i do not like chicago but i have to defend citadel somewhat...they do pay well if your desk performs well. if not, you do make shit and are fired promptly and have to sit on the bench for a year.

Excellent reporting and summation, waverly.

gumball, why would an SSI recipient who lives in his chain-smoking slipper-footed Walmart-parttimer mother's basement in Hammond, Indiana (and also in fantasyland) know better than you what kind of sh*t salaries financial analysts earn?

gumball, you crack me up. if you really were a VP at a prop desk, you would know that citadel guys make more money than NYC traders. There's a reason why people leave NYC, London, Paris, and Hong Kong, to go work at Citadel.

rufus, now you're getting somewhere, by accepting the fact that you're cracked. Now just make an appointment for that frontal lobotomy, to finish what God started.