I've been working on Wall Street for almost 20 years now, the last 10 as an industry analyst. In hindsight, it’s amazing to think how much has changed in the last decade, and conversely, how much has stayed the same. Putting aside the obvious things that didn't exist in 2007—the iPhone, Instagram, my children—here's my list of the most notable things that were with us in 2007 and no longer are, followed by those things that have, against all odds, stayed with us.

Things that don't exist anymore

  1. CDO-Squared
  2. Latency measures in milliseconds
  3. CRT monitors
  4. Wall Street & Technology
  5. Quick-and-easy sales to banks
  6. Blackberries
  7. 110% mortgagesp
  8. $600 trillion swaps market
  9. Flash orders
  10. The NYSE members-only Luncheon Club

Things that still exist

  1. The swaps market
  2. High-frequency traders
  3. Mortgage-backed securities
  4. Sub-prime mortgages
  5. Traders Magazine
  6. Sales traders
  7. Steak dinners
  8. Too-big-to-fail banks
  9. Ratings agencies
  10. The U.S. economy


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About Kevin McPartland

Kevin McPartland is Head of Research for Market Structure... view more

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