twitter would like to borrow money from you. they will pay a reduced interest rate on the loan. in exchange, you will get the option to convert your loan into shares of twitter at a designated, unchanging price--likely near the current stock price.

this is a great deal for twitter, as long as their stock price does not go up. in other words, twitter is calling the top of the market for its own shares -- to the tune of 1.3B.

bezos did this to great effect with amazon in the late 90s. he did in fact correctly predict a prolonged stagnation in share price.

Of course, the share price stagnation is a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If the share price rises too much, bond holders will convert and cash out early. Even the understanding that this is possible puts a damper on peoples' assessment of the stock's upside potential.

Voleon Capital Management -- Berkeley, CA -- Full-time, on-site

We are a science-driven systematic trading firm, built on the principle that statistical machine learning provides the best solutions to the scientific problems we must solve. Our team includes faculty at premier universities and PhD's from top-tier schools. You will have a high impact, and you can expect frequent interaction with the researchers, officers, and founders.

We've had great success and are getting big fast. Willingness to take initiative, and a gritty determination to productize, are essential.

Our offices are in downtown Berkeley, one block from campus and one block from BART.

* Member of Research Staff

    We are looking for a PhD-level scientist to join us in developing
    predictive financial models and other quantitative components of
    automated trading systems. You will apply modern statistical
    machine-learning methods to large, high-dimensional data sets. The work
    will range from data preparation to model development to production
    software implementation.

    We take a rigorous approach to building trading systems, and we
    actively foster a collegial, intellectual environment.

    We hire on the basis of exceptional talent. If you excel in a technical
    field such as statistics, mathematics, computer science, engineering,
    or operations research, then we encourage you to contact us. The
    following criteria, while not all requirements, illustrate the demands
    of this role.

    + Background in modern statistical methods / machine learning
    + Evidence of strong mathematical abilities, e.g. publication record,
      graduate coursework, or competition placement
    + Substantial programming experience and interest in software
      development techniques
    + Competence in solving large-scale computing problems
    + Track record as an applied researcher
    + Demonstrable clarity of thought (not optional)

    Interest in financial applications is essential, but experience in
    finance is not a primary factor in our hiring.

* Software Engineer

    You will architect and implement a diverse set of core infrastructures,
    including new production systems, scientific-computing environments,
    and modern data stores.

    We seek candidates with a proven track record of writing correct,
    well-designed software, solving hard problems and delivering complex
    projects on time. You should preferably have experience with high
    assurance, distributed, fault-tolerant systems. Experience with
    functional programming as well as soft real-time, low-latency,
    cache-friendly systems is a bonus.

Benefits and compensation are highly competitive. Interested applicants are encouraged to send a cover letter and resume to [email protected].