Well, following the Intelegant Awards of 2007, honestly thought that nothing could beat Morgan Stanley’s stunning Christmas turkey. After all, nothing goes to show what a really dedicated collective team effort can achieve like a negative profit of $8,000,000,000. Good job guys.

But, as we all know to really mess things up it takes but one truly committed individual.

The kind of losses that make African debt look minuscule couldn’t happen again within six weeks of each other, could it?

Mais oui!

In a move so financially stunning that is makes the Titanic look like Timmy losing his rubber duck in his Friday night bubble bath, rogue trader Jerome Kerviel, has single-handedly cost one of the central pillars of French banking Société Genérale a stunning $7 billion.

Vraiment, faît accomplie…

Even Yasuo Hamanaka, who previously held the personal record losing some $2.6 billion in 1996, while trading copper commodities at Sumitoma, must be green as Cu2O with jealousy.

I guess it’s one record where you’re glad to lose the title?

But I also bet that Jerry boy won’t hold the title for as long this time…

Isn’t it time that someone took compliance as a healthy option - rather than bad tasting medicine?

After all, you and I might have stopped at say $2,000,000,000 - but then again, why don’t go, literally, for broke if no-one’s watching?

While this is an outstanding effort to wipe out one of the more important European banks that should have taken strategy of M. Porter proportions, he appears to have failed to actually detonate the Big Bertha of a bomb that these losses should. Unless you count a takeover - which does look likely. Oh. Merde.

It’s early days and one cannot predict these things. Just ask Jerome. Whose obvious predilection for prediction seems destined to fall flatter than an a bevy of bungy jumping elephants with manic-depressive tendencies.

I think we can all safely predict an excellent career for Jerome as author and chat show celebrity. If he survives prison. Poor Jerome. Courage mon ami, the loss of all your friends on Facebook is only temporary - give them a glimpse of a TV camera and those same friends will come running back - just don’t be surprised if they do so anonymously.

I mean there are fair weather friends, then lousy weather, then there’s darn that tornandey just ripped Daisy straight out of her stall and took Mary Lou and the best milkin’ pail with her weather. This is the latter.

The Daily Telegraph reports that it was the death of a father and the break-up of a marriage were the triggers for the behaviour - sounds reasonable - damaged ego plus misery - work becomes everything - must have status as the biggest and best.

Ah, boys and their toys.

Just hoping, seriously, he’s got one good friend to sit up nights with him for the next couple of weeks.

And no sleeping pills.

Methinks, it’s going to be tough for one person to beat this this within another six weeks, but hey, hedge funders are getting ready to move again so you never know…

I am just about to start a five day open course on the neuroanatomy and neuropsychology of stress on Monday here on the blog, and Jerome, mon brave, if you would drop by and read it, and I do think you might be the target profile for such a course, then I solemnly promise you’ll have one friend, well, if an add on my Facebook page doesn’t cheer you up, what will…?