USA Today article on Block Trading's Demise
Inner strife sinks leading day trading firm
HOUSTON - Everyone knew what was coming.
In a meeting room thick with ill will, Jeff Burke, president of Block Trading, fumed as he handed out financial information secretly given to him by a company accountant. He then pointedly asked Christopher Block, the CEO, if the firm's accounting was proper, if everything was aboveboard. Block defended himself with equal vigor.
It wasn't long before it started - the shouting, again, as loud as ever. By now, Burke and Block, co-founders and equal owners, detested each other. Above the roar, someone suggested they could no longer work together.
"I'll buy you out," Block growled.
"Fine," Burke responded.
Block Trading shut down a few months later in September. It issued a press release saying it had "voluntarily suspended" operations as excessive costs pushed it "below the fund levels required by the Securities and Exchange Commission." The release - amid regulatory concerns, last-minute fundraising efforts and fractured friendships - marked a sour finale to a storybook rise.
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