When losers gain some and winners lose some
There is increasing evidence that you may be able to make money more with losers than winners.
Barclays reported last week that pre-tax profit almost doubled in 2009, to a record GBP11.6 billion (HK$139 billion).
More than 50 per cent of that came from the sale of the British bank's fund-management business last summer, and about half of the rest came from its investment-banking unit, which acquired the American operations of Lehman Brothers after the Wall Street firm failed in 2008.
I bet none of those forensic professionals who carried out the autopsy on Lehman after the roof came crashing down two years ago would have expected this so soon.
The banking giant, unlike many of its rivals, did not take any bail-out funds from the British government during the financial crisis.