Wall Street, where commodities trading has become an important and controversial business, ought to feel threatened by what looks like a giant unregulated financial firm with profitability ratios far greater than those posted by the biggest investment banks.

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And looking at the usual metrics like profitability, price earnings ratios and so on he makes a good case.

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That may do much to restore profitability to a business which has been mercilessly squeezed by requirements for higher capital ratios, at a time when wholesale funding is becoming more expensive or drying up altogether.

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