High tech finance

The brainchild of ex-Columbia University computer science professor David E. Shaw, D. E. Shaw is an ultra-private investment and technology-development outfit that operates out of 15 offices, including New York; Silicon Valley; Houston; Kansas City, Kan.; Washington, D.C.; London, U.K.; Shanghai; Honk Kong; Tokyo; and Hyderabad, India. The firm trades stocks, bonds, options, futures, warrants, convertible securities and other financial instruments used by corporations and governments worldwide.  D. E. Shaw employs about 1,300 people all over the world. Since its inception in 1988 until the end of 2008, the firm substantially grew its funds from $28 million to approximately $30 billion, making its founder David Shaw a ve...