How does a programmer earn $400k?

[BrilloPad]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8137607.stm

Ex-Goldman worker in theft charge

A former worker for Goldman Sachs, Russian programmer Sergey Aleynikov, has been released on bail in the US, charged with "theft of trade secrets".

He has been accused of misusing computer codes owned by a former employer, unnamed in court papers but reportedly Goldman Sachs.

Mr Aleynikov was released on Monday, having met the $750,000 bail (£463,000) after his arrest by the FBI on Friday.

He left his job at Goldman, where he earned $400,000 a year, in June.

A transcript of Mr Aleynikov's attendance before a US magistrate on Saturday showed that he worked for Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs said it did not comment on former employees.

The FBI arrested Mr Aleynikov, 39, as he disembarked from a flight in Newark on Friday, according to FBI documents.

Proprietary information

Sabrina Shroff, Mr Aleynikov's lawyer, said her client did not plan to sell the information or use it "contrary to my employment agreement with Goldman Sachs".

The case has raised issues about how safe such lucrative trading systems are.

As well as the $750,000 bond required as part of the bail, Mr Aleynikov was required to deliver $75,000 in cash and hand over travel documents.

Mr Aleynikov is accused of using proprietary information and uploading it to a computer based in Germany.

He argued that he had only meant to use open-source computer files, as opposed to propriety information, but later "realised that he had obtained more files than he intended", FBI court papers stated.

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How does a programmer earn $400k? Or was he not programming at GoldmineSucks?

[HairyArsedBloke]

It'll make more sence if you go back to the origins of the story at ZeroHedge or the Reuters Stories rather than read total tulip that comes out of the BBC business department.

[BrilloPad]

So in fact he is not a coder : he stole code. Well done the BBC.

[Bright Spark]

The guy was developing complex algorithms which trade automatically based
on low latency market data. It's a very niche area and requires high level
of maths / quants knowledge + knowledge about modelling financial instruments + programming skills + knowledge about low latency market data.

[Gonzo]

Quants probably.

When I were a nipper, the holy grail was to find a mathematical framework which could be applied to horse-racing data to find the winners of the races. It can't be done.

Quants are doing essentially the same thing but it is more respectable.

[BlasterBates]

I still think it's a typo.

[bobhope]

Did you see the bit where this might be a double bluff by GS? He was arrested 1 day after starting at his new company, Teza. GS could therefore maybe stop Teza in its tracks, claiming that they were using their code.

[Andy2]

I still think it's a typo.

he was a quant probably .They get paid gazillions.

[Lockhouse]

The guy was developing complex algorithms which trade automatically based
on low latency market data. It's a very niche area and requires high level
of maths / quants knowledge + knowledge about modelling financial instruments + programming skills + knowledge about low latency market data.

WHS - He's an quant algo developer.

[HairyArsedBloke]

Quants probably.

he was a quant probably .They get paid gazillions.

WHS - He's an quant algo developer.

So you lot think he was a quant?

Oh FFS