It Is OK To Be “Unlovable”

Just a short year ago (almost to the day) the financial markets were spiraling out of control. Oil had plummeted to scary levels, the stock market had suffered a major correction, hedge funds and long-only investors were bleeding and facing redemptions, the leveraged loan market had screeched to a halt, and the Fed was afraid to even utter the words “interest rate increase” for fear the wheels would completely fall off the cart.

Do These Traits, Characteristics, and Qualities Describe You?

2017 is upon us and the turn of the year is often a period to take stock of oneself, make new resolutions, and plan goals and aspirations for the New Year. In writing our first employee letter of calendar 2017, we have decided to reflect upon the traits, characteristics and qualities that we believe describe our most important and treasured partners at Jefferies.

One Fiscal Year Ends and Another Begins…

Today, we start Jefferies’ 2017 fiscal year. We would like to share with each of you our brief perspective on our 2016 and on our future together: The first quarter of 2016 was one of the most painful periods we have experienced in our careers. Our results were horrible, as we dug ourselves into a

Personal Gratitude List

This is the beginning of the season where we remind ourselves of our blessings and all we have to be thankful for in our lives.  We would like to share with each of you our personal Gratitude List:

Accountability and Where the Buck Truly Stops

To Our Clients: We are grateful that we can only imagine the pain, embarrassment, sadness and anger that must accompany a CEO when he or she is called before Congress to address a real or perceived misdeed by an individual or a group of people at his or her company.  It does not matter if

Jefferies Summer Intern(s) Set the Tone from the Top

Last week we asked each of our 177 analyst and associate summer interns to set the tone for all of Jefferies by writing their own August 1st JEF Today letter.  The senior leaders of Jefferies (along with the two of us) read every individual entry.  The submissions were honest, inspiring, creative, thoughtful, and fun.  We

Trying to Retain Focus and Make Some Sense of the Madness

Globally, we are experiencing an exceptional period. Our U.K. sisters and brothers have surprised the world and voted to leave the European Union, erasing in two days a record $3 trillion of market wealth and perhaps forcing ultra-low and negative interest rates to continue for an even longer foreseeable time horizon.

The Time of Year When We (re)Learn From Our Summer Interns

June is the time of year when many new and youthful faces start to swarm around our offices and trading floors.  From what started with thousands of talented applicants, about 130 extremely special summer analysts and associates will join us to begin their Jefferies experience.