"FUTURES MARKET" "Hello, oblivion" "One evening, more than two thousand years ago, the Greek poet Simonides ofCeos arrive data dinner party along with over twenty guests." "During the course of the meal, while Simonides was absent for a moment, the roof of the house fell in, burying all within." "The corpses were so disfigured that nobody could identify them." "But Simonides was able to do so because he remembered the exact place where everyone had sat." "It is said that Simonides invented the Art of Memory, which was used for centuries." "In any case, this art has now, fora longtime, ceased to be of importance." "Can you hear me?" "We're in an apartment." "We've found two very beautiful statuettes and four paintings by an artist called Rosales." "They are very pretty." "They are ofTangiers, ofArabs." "It's a fantastic apartment." "Make up your mind soon." "Bring me the two volumes of the History of Carlism." "Grab it, please." "I've seen more than 300 hotel projects." "Mine has more than 5,000 square meters built." "Did you put in 44 rooms because of the building code or because you wanted to?" "Because we felt like it." "You decided to build 90 square meter rooms." "It might have been better to make them 50 m2." "That would give you 80 rooms instead of 44." "But we can't risk the guy saying, "this isn't good enough"." "So what do we do, finish the 44 rooms?" "For him it's an investment, he might think you've overdone it with 90 meter rooms." "We need to redesign, which costs more money." "Then, we need the license for the changes." "More money." "Then fees." "More money."" "In the end, the man says," ""income, investment, costs:" "they don't add up. "" "I don't know if you get the idea." "Our hotel is just four walls, a 5000 square meter box." "What would you do?" "Pull it down, make it bigger, paint it green, make it round..." "Let me show you the inside of the house." "Have a look at the layout." "These are detached homes we are building in Alicante, near the sea..." "They're at "Los arenales del sol"." "These are detached houses on the beach, on 300 meters lots." "Panama." "There was a boom four years ago." "It's a tax haven." "There are a lot of advantages." "The first thing people ask is, "how high is it?"" "It will be about 100 or 120 meters high in the central part" "and 140 in the highest tower." "The idea is to export these models to Europe." "We'll have to find plots of about 30,000 square meters, big enough for about 700 units." "Get a sense of the market, see what's happening." "They're still studying the project's sustainability." "Yes, it can be set up for thermal discharges," "solar panels... lt has very precise quality specifications for security reasons," "followingAmerican standards..." "Rain water collecting system." "Separate greywater disposal..." "You can see that there's no centralized amenities area." "There's a swimming pool, a gym..." "People connect underneath." "There is no need to go outside." "It's a great project." "Don't you think?" "We'll make a killing." "How big?" "38 million square meters." "3,800 hectares... lt is all theirs." "They are the developers." "Of everything?" "What prices are we talking about?" "They still haven't decided what they'll build." "They haven't started yet." "They're in the planning phase." "They only know the size of the property, which is 38 million meters..." "We'll see what comes of it." "Thank you." "Look, the land is yours, but the investment you've made to build this huge structure" "isn't just two million." "You'll need another two million to finish it." "The hotel is yours and nobody can take it away from you." "With that balance sheet you can make a lot of money." "You can use it to set a high price or to decide not to sell." "Perhaps you will make more over 20 years than by selling it." "That's what a balance sheet is good for." "It is said that Simonides, or somebody like him, invented the Art of Memory that was used for centuries by philosophers, poets and architects." "The first rule of the Art of Memory is this:" ""place the things you would like to remember along a path," "because all knowledge is remembrance and the memory of all things begins with walking." "Place each idea, each thought, and dreams as well, each one in a given place and leave it there." "So that when you comeback on the path, every idea, each place Willemstad to the next. """ "This system for keeping matters of the soul in real or imaginary places must have had vital significance in the past," "but this significance is escaping us." "There might have been a time when cities, like books, spoke, but they didn't speak about themselves." "They simply retained something that was already remembered." "Imagine what it might mean for our lives if we approached the challenges of daily life knowing that within ourselves we have an oasis of peace," "calm and tranquility." "Imagine the possibilities that open up when faced with challenges, no matter how strong the winds may be," "there is a place within us where we can feel solid, strong and centered." "And then, being able to face any challenge," "like those who can... because they deeply believe they can." "HOW FAR DO YOU WAN TTO GO?" "The "Executive MBA" is for people with 6 years' experience." "It's for professionals who are already working in this field." "Say you work in sales, you know the ins and outs" "and you want to move up to marketing executive." "That's when to do an "Executive MBA", after 6 years in the company, to move up to management." "So most students are being groomed for management by their company?" "This is about company management, plain and simple." "The "lSE" was created to help you make the right decisions when you are a managing director and you have an overview of the company." "It provides you with everything you need to know in terms of strategy" "and the roles of different areas of a company, such as marketing." "The "lSE" identifies the best student candidates, offers them very practical and international training," "and helps them climb the ladder and have an impact on society from the top of the company or to set up their own company, as most of our students do." "Where is it?" "That way." "Vision" "Determination" "Courage" "residue OFTHE SOUL" ""Antiques, books, apartment clearance"" "I found this saint but I don't think it's hand-carved." "You stripped the flat clean." "Fifty!" "N ninety!" "A hundred even!" "A hundred and ten!" "A hundred and thirty!" "This is my off er!" "Fifty!" "N ninety!" "Sold!" "Sold!" "You won't believe what we have here!" "You are stepping on me." "Sorry!" "Give me the one you're stepping on." "A big book about Stravinsky." "I don't see it." "It must be over there." "You're digging things out, and others are burying them." "How can I help you?" "A bicycle?" "Yes, I have some." "But they're back in there." "Buried." "I haven't taken them out today." "I've taken enough things out." "I'm too busy as it is." "That's a good wheel, right?" "How much?" "lt's cheap." "Ten euros." "Just the rim is worth that." "lt looks good." "Of course it does." "Money's screwed, isn't it?" "Money is screwed and work is worse." "Work?" "We'll work, you'll see." "We'll break everything and put it all back together." "Does anybody here have brackets for parabolicTV antennas?" "What do you want?" "The antenna?" "N o, just the metal frame." "I have one but I can't take it out." "I have it in the patio." "I have two, a big one and a little one." "I need one that goes on a wall." "Yes, I know." "The frame that holds the parabolic antenna." "I might have one, but I can't find it for you, son." "Won't somebody here have one?" "l don't think so." "Mute statues, staring at us from another world, always about to say something they will keep to themselves." "And you, dolls, especially you, gutted by the children that are searching for their soul." "You never said anything." "But upon you we poured out for the first time the love that has no name." "You were there before words, at the beginning of all desires." "Today's euro. lt's at 90." "They're checking it." "Five months for the eurodollar..." "19 at 17.6 ." "Five months for the eurodollar..." "19 at 17.6 ." "250 for five years." "I don't think that covers it all." "100 at 5 years." "Done!" "100 at 5 years." "I'll pay 95 month to month!" "What's the ask size?" "500?" "A thousand?" "I am still paying 95 on the month." "That one?" "N o way!" "Your screen is showing 96 , for Christ's sake!" "More, more than 500." "He says he wants an off er." "80 and 3/4." "Do we sell?" "The computer is offering eighty and half." "I confirm three quarters!" "That's it." "Mine!" "Tell me how much you want." "KBC Brussels." "I don't know the amount." "So what!" "I'm still paying 80 3/4." "How many do you want?" "500?" "Check-in!" "Done!" "500!" "I'll buy more!" "500!" "Any amount." "80.7, they are selling at four months." "N o offers there?" "Up your ass!" "The sons of bitches are saying we're paying 95." "Not just one of them, a bunch of them." "We're the only ones with the fucking offers who will pay the price and we don't pay it." "And even then we get stuck." "Buy at 16 put September price at the boom with 71 ticks, you sell at 15 put September price with 47 ticks and a half." "I repeat: buy at 16 put September price at boom with 71 ticks, sell at 15 put September price with 47 ticks and a half." "Buy 7 futures at 119. 6 . 7..." "Charley, can you put half ticks in the boom?" "Or are they 50-50?" "But it's a block trade with futures." "You have to include the 7 futures." "That'll change it, right?" "The computer won't allow it..." "March BTP." "I sell at 7- 8 base price." "March BTP. I sell at 7-8 base price. 10 thousand." "5-5!" "I sell at three and a quarter." "I'm selling two millions of Greek debt at 37 or 40." "02 buy BN P." "We're paying more than ten." "I sell 7 at 5." "Banco Santander!" "And I sell four at fourteen." "For ten grand it's no good." "I sell 33 at base." "And I sell four at fourteen." "They're buying at 98!" "I have paper 98 to date." "I am with them, I'm telling you!" "They're buying!" "Shall we go for it?" "They are buying!" "Someone is looking for the three and a quarter at month." "We're selling 50 million of Banco Guipuzcoano." "I'm seeing if I can buy." "Two guys are buying, right?" "That's a quarter at month." "You're buying at 95?" "What do you have?" "Wait, wait!" "I have 300 here." "300 at 95!" "l'm entering it!" "But I'm with Caja Madrid!" "Give the guy 150!" "But the other guy is on hold!" "I thought you were talking to me!" "Who's buying at 95?" "l am." "300 at 95. I buy." "Done, right?" "Give 150 to Caja Madrid!" "l haven't given him anything!" "Give him 150!" "Did you do the 150?" " l was getting it out of the way." "I was trying to get you to give the 300 to the other guy." "Still paying 95 to Espirito Santo." "THE DREAM MACHlN E" "If ever memory was unnecessary, this would-be an appropriate place." "Straight lines pointed in the direction of promises that lead to the tunnel." "Someone once said," """When the Gods want to help mortals, they place dreams in their heads and when they want to punish them, they make the dreams come true""." "It's a very competitive price, if you buy land at 150 euros." "Spain is bad shape, so we'll go and do business over there." "Like in the Dominican Republic." "Yes, five or six years ago we saw the credit crunch coming so we invested there." "We have to diversify." "We'd like to invest there." "We'll take a look at the situation and get something out of it." "In Hungary we found a market with tremendous possibilities." "Why?" "Because the city has two million inhabitants, 70 universities..." "The country has 43,000 million euros worth of foreign capital investment," "the European Union has invested another 33,6 00..." "The city has had an impressive facelift." "Budapest has never had new housing developments." "N ow is the time to buy off the plan." "After life under communism suddenly they saw the light and said: "Wow, what's going on here?" "Are these houses made of wood?" "N o, they're not." "That's a good question." "I often get asked that." "They are proper houses, well-built." "Here's a photo from last week." "That's me." "As you see, they're not made of wood." "Some of these houses haven't been lived in." "They were built in 2005, 2006 ." "They belong to the bank, they were up for auction, but nobody bid on them." "What is the neighborhood like?" "Here it would be considered top notch." "Over there, it would be an average working-class neighborhood." "There are a few villas and everything is walled." "They have security guards patrolling around in little golf carts." "It's extremely safe." "Here you have the gardener who trims your hedges and mows your lawn." "It has an American-style kitchen, its dining room, the master bedroom with its dressing room." "Here you have two bathrooms, one is the toilet." "It is very cute." "They are very cute things." "There are impressive natural lakes, right outside your backdoor." "Miami is a very clean city." "There's no trash on the streets." "It's not like over here." "Everything's very tidy there." "That's its beauty, you have peace, tranquility... I'm offering everybody exactly what I have invested in myself." "N o smoke and mirrors here." "My partners and I have invested in what you see here." "We'll be neighbours" "These are natural hot springs with optional massage and optional sauna in your own home." "Thermal waters are like gold in Budapest because the Hungarians spend a lot of cash in spas." "It is very interesting." "But that's not what makes it great." "Sure, it's very beautiful, but the best thing is the return you get from renting this house." "For a 55,000 euros studio apartment, you put in 9,000 euros" "and the rest of the mortgage is covered by the 300 or 400 euro rent." "This is the island." "It covers 45 hectares in the archipelago." "It's a mangrove swamp, with all that implies in terms of nature." "It's an explosion of life." "There are all sorts of protected animals, plants and fish." "This is what you see when you walk out of your bungalow." "This is the model." "Here is your little boat, or you can take a swim over here." "The island is 40 meters away and the biodiversity of a mangrove swamp is at your feet." "In fact it's a suite rather than a bungalow and the floor is made of glass." "When you look down, you see all sorts offish underneath you." "There are manta rays..." "It is spectacular." "The idea is" ""We'll build something so attractive that it will bring in five-star tourists"." "We're talking 400 dollars a night." "A fortune!" "You need to fill it all year-round to maintain the high returns that you want." "I am showing you the product so you can see where your customers will go." "Why will they go there?" "Because it's spectacular." "It is an explosion of nature." "Everything they can experience there is amazing." "If you spent 6 months there you might get tired of it, but coming from a big city and finding all this is mind-blowing." "And it's not just the island." "Less than 3 miles away you can swim with dolphins who are used to humans, and even feed them." "It is on a whale migration route." "If you like deep sea fishing you can go out for swordfish, sharks, you can watch turtles lay their eggs at night... lt's an amazing display of nature." "You can go do ecotourism, you can visit indigenous villages." "N o, these are not Cunas." "Cunas live in the Caribbean, near Colombia." "It's a concept of tourism that anybody would go for." "Here you have a restaurant, leisure areas..." "They all have glass floors, so you have the feeling you're connecting with nature," "and air conditioning, so you can relax having a beer and a chat while the fish go by all around you because you're underwater." "I would like to make you a recommendation." "Go for thermal spring water in your house, with optional in-house massage service and sauna..." "That's in the best residential area." "It's a green area, with gardens, where all the Budapest rich people live." "N nothing's been built yet?" "We have other similar projects like this restored building ready for occupancy." "The best thing is that after five years you no longer have to pay the luxury tax" "2010 to 2015 is the time to invest, because in 2013 the euro comes in." "You wait for things to settle down and then you get a full return." "Here in Spain you have to pay, no ifs or buts." "There, after the fifth year, everything you earn is for you." "What is your name?" "Faustino." "Ok, Faustino." "What do you have in mind?" "Take a little savings and invest it somewhere?" "Something inexpensive with high returns?" "I don't want to speculate." "I just want a place to live." "ln Budapest?" "N o..." "That's not why we came." "We were actually looking for a house but somebody told us about this... I don't want to change your mind." "Keep looking." "But we have flats starting at 55,000 euros and they're a great investment." "Let me show you some examples in the hot springs area." "It is a residential area." "Full of detached houses." "l don't mean to be rude but..." "You're not interested." "It is not a matter of being rude." "Thanks a lot." "Maybe e some day..." "Maybe today you're not interested but tomorrow you may be." "We'd never considered it." "lt's unprecedented." "You never know... I was that way at first until I opened my mind." "investing abroad was really scary." "This is not a vacation residence." "70%% of our buyers are Hungarians and the rest are foreigners." "Imagine a huge 200-floor building." "If all the buyers were Spanish when it came to selling we would all have the same idea." "And now I want to ask you please, that you take all this confidence," "all this power, all this belief in yourselves, towards the future." "How can you open up a future?" "What possibilities open to you when you come close to that future like those who know they can?" "They will always find a way." "What possibilities will open in your life when you advance with that trust, with the confidence that you will find a way?" "Wherever there is a wall, a door or a window will somehow open." "What do you feel when you can walk toward the future, conscious, totally aware of this strength," "of this enormous potential?" "And we return to the present." "We breathe once, twice, three times deeply... and we open our eyes to find ourselves again perfectly situated in space and time." "WALKlN G AN D lookin G" "One day, all the newspapers began to talk about a big economic crisis." "All tried to explain the path we had taken to get to that point," "but the path had disappeared." "They used words with their usual meanings but the words no longer meant what they used to." "And the space had changed" "When I leave the house I get into the car." "And I see a tree with its roots showing." "I see some iron bars next to a light." "And I see that the light shines on a plant." "Then I go to the bus stop and walk across a bridge, I get on a ramp." "And I see a truck full of sand, a policeman and a woman who walks by smoking." "I see a gas station, then I see a car giving off a lot of smoke and I get to school." "Cheap, cheap, 2 euros!" "12 pairs of socks for 5 euros!" "Tell me." "A radiator?" "N o, a water heater, for the shower." "I get it now." "A water heater." "Electric or gas?" "Gas." "This is gas." "200 litres." "It goes all the way to the other side." "It works both with electricity and with gas." "Complicated, isn't it?" "But it can heat a lot of hot water." "It is for a rooming house, or a hotel..." "l don't have room for it." "l don't have a smaller one." "This one is for a hotel." "l see." "Do you have bidets?" "A bidet?" "What colour?" "White?" "Brown." "N o." "I've got green, blue, white, but not brown." "In here I've got white, blue, green and beige ones, but no brown ones." "Why would I have one of those?" "Do you have transformers?" "Not today." "For what capacity?" "From 220 to 12." "Watts, capacity." "Yes..." "From 220 to 12." "You don't get it. 12 watt transformers are hard to find." "I have them for 1000, 2000 watts..." "Very powerful." "You want small ones." "I don't have them." "That bicycle." "How much is it?" "That one?" "100 euros." "Have a nice day." "OK." "That's a deep fryer." "For frying." "What did you want?" "Just the basket." "But I need a bigger one." "A 5 litre one?" "Yes, 5 litres" "Maybe I have one in there." "But not out here." "Okay, it will turn up." "lt will turn up." "It's too hot to go in there." "Do you sell kitchen cupboards?" "l don't have any at hand." "And inside?" "Nothing?" "N o, I don't have any." "Can't you get up for a moment?" "l'm not selling you anything." "Give it to me, then." "l'm not opening that door!" " Do you have the key?" "I have all the keys." "I'm not going to take anything out of that room." "Not even if you pay me a million." "I have four or five kitchen cupboards in there but I'd have to move a truckload of things to get at them" "so I say, "l don't have any"." "Do you have coat hangers?" "Coat hangers?" "N o." "Yes, I do, but they are back inside." "They are just fine where they are." "Things are kind of slow today." "Every day is worse." "If you laid everything out on a vacant lot you'd sell it all in a week." "What for?" "That's a different matter." "Why would I sell it?" "If I sell it, I won't have it anymore." "And what would you do with the money?" "Take it to the bank and get 2%%?" "All right, let's not argue anymore." "I have other dreams..." "to do this, to do that, to think about the meaning of life, about things I never thought about." "The day I die, I don't want to be buried." "I want to be cremated." "And they can put the ashes in a box and take them to Galicia, where my parents are buried." "What for?" "So they can put them in a vault." "And what will you do?" "Fight?" " l'll be with my ancestors." "If you are all so close together you'll end up fighting." "I already know what I want." "I want my remains to be next to the bones of my parents." "The ashes." "I don't want priests or anything else." "N o way!" "They feed off the dead." "They just do business with the dead." "N nowadays cremation costs 1000 euros." "Even if it costs 2000!" "I have no problem with this." "You die, you fill out a form, they call the doctor, they sign, you telephone, they come pick you up and it's over." "That's interesting." "I've already done it, and my wife too." "Because cremation today costs 1000 euros." "Well, I'm going to consider it." "I made up my mind a while ago." "I just don't like people making money off corpses!" "And you can't take the ashes to Galicia in your pocket." "You need a hearse." "You just put them in a suitcase, man!" "And take them by train Why would you tell anybody?" "That's ridiculous!" "Hello, would you have a plastic tent?" "N o, I don't." "N o plastic ones and no wooden ones." "If I don't have it I can't sell it." "I've got so much stuff and people want what I don't have!" "At least you're brave enough to donate your body to science." "That needs to be thought about, doesn't it?" "l need to think about it." "But funerals cost money." "The coffin, the room, the priest," "the mass, the transportation..." "All that costs money." "Sure." "I know, you can spend a grand." "And all the hassle..." "Do you have a wheel for a cart?" "A wheel for that?" "Yes." "For the shopping cart." "I see what you mean, but I don't have one." "The ones I have have a bigger diameter." "That size is going to be hard to find." "It's not the standard size." "Try and see if you are lucky." "l don't have any." "OK, thank you." "If we all did the same, science would have too many corpses." "People don't usually do it." "They're afraid." "lt's not fear..." "It's respect." "Respect, for what?" "About having your body cut into pieces..." "But if you get buried, the worms will it you." "l know." "And what if you get cremated?" "What then?" "The same thing." "Either way, you'll turn to dust." "You'll be dead anyway." "Manolillo, goodbye." "Have a good day." "How much is this?" "What?" "What is it?" "I don't know if it works, son." "I don't know." "If you're interested you can have it cheap, but no guarantees." "If I don't know whether something works, I'll say so." "Can I sit down for a rest?" "Sit down, darling." "Calm down, I'm not going to charge you." "Have a rest." "l walk as slow as a turtle." "Calm down." "You can stay there as long as you need to." "Of course." "We old people have to help each other." "The chair's a little hot." "Do you want a towel?" "I don't have anything to off er you." "The sun is not very warm today..." "You must be about my age..." "more or less." "I'm 88 years old." "You're just a kid." "lf it wasn't for my knee... I'd like to walk like a young girl." "The same goes for me." "I'm four years older than you." "I was born in 1918 and you in 1922." "My knees are also bothering me lately." "The sun's hot today." "It's going to rain again." "There might be a storm this afternoon but for now I don't think so." "See how clear the sky is?" "Not a single cloud." "Now I've had a break." "Stay there all you want."