Weekend Reading: Skipping the Wall St. ‘Wolf’

Martin Scorsese’s film about Jordan Belfort is set join a long list of Wall Street movies that are focused more on frat-boy antics than financial wizardry.

The caricatures personified by Mr. Belfort, Gordon Gekko and the brokers in “Boiler Room” are well-known. “Boiler Room” even includes a long scene with the characters quoting from “Wall Street.”

Here are options for 10 very good (and some so bad they’re great) movies on finance that we’d rather see instead of spending time with our family this holiday.

1. “Trading Places” Money quote: “The people who own the pork belly contracts are saying, ‘Hey, we’re losing all our damn money, and Christmas is around the corner, and I ain’t gonna have no money to buy my son the G.I. Joe with the kung-fu grip!’”
2. “Floored” Money quote: Almost every quote in this documentary on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is unprintable.
3. “Barbarians at the Gate” Money quote: “Kravis will eat you alive if you let him in.”
4. “The Secret of My Success” Money quote: “That was the best damn memo I ever read.”
5. “Other People’s Money” Money quote: “I’ll bet the last company around was the one that made the best goddamn buggy whip you ever saw. Now how would you have liked to have been a stockholder in that company?”
6. “Working Girl” Money quote: “I have a head for business and a bod for sin. Is there anything wrong with that?”
7. “Rogue Trader” Money quote: “One of our traders in Singapore got drunk the other night and pulled a moon.”
8. “American Psycho” Money quote: “I can’t believe that Bryce prefers Van Patton’s card to mine.”
9. “Too Big to Fail” Money quote: “We don’t do this now, we won’t have an economy on Monday.”
10. “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Money quote: “Look, we’re still in business, we’ve got two bucks left!” This 1946 film may be the last time a banker was portrayed on film as a decent person.

A look back on our reporting of the past week’s highs and lows in finance.

FRIDAY, DEC. 20

Deutsche Bank to Pay $1.9 Billion Over Troubled Mortgage Securities | The German bank is the sixth entity to reach a settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has sued 17 banks and financial institutions. DealBook »

THURSDAY, DEC. 19

S.E.C. Tension as It Weighed Mortgage Cases | The reasoning behind the decisions and the contentious way they divided camps within the agency illuminates how difficult choices are made inside the regulator. DealBook »

Investors’ Story Left Out of Wall St. ‘Wolf’ Movie | Left untold in a film about the penny-stock swindler Jordan Belfort and his firm, Stratton Oakmont, are the stories of the investors. DealBook »

Jury-Room Demonstration Persuaded Holdouts in Ex-Trader’s Trial | The jury reached its verdict of guilty in Michael S. Steinberg’s insider trading case soon after one juror convinced a holdout by having her walk through a doorway. DealBook »

Big Subprime Mortgage Loan Servicer Agrees to $2.2 Billion Settlement | Ocwen Financial said on Thursday that it had agreed to pay $2.1 billion to settle accusations that it improperly handled the loans of homeowners. DealBook »

Seafood Chain to Be Split From Darden’s Empire | Darden Restaurants announced that it would jettison its Red Lobster chain, one of several steps it said it would take to bolster its stock value. DealBook »

Facebook to Offer More Shares to the Public | When the markets open on Monday, Facebook will be a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index. DealBook »

Perelman Gives $50 Million to Hospital | The 10-year gift will go for the construction of an expanded NYU Langone emergency department that will triple the size of old unit. DealBook »

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18

Ex-Trader at SAC Is Found Guilty | Michael S. Steinberg is the highest-ranking employee at SAC Capital Advisors to become ensnared in a sweeping insider trading investigation. DealBook »

More SAC Employees Depart as Firm Shifts Focus | Some expect departures from SAC Capital, which has pleaded guilty to federal charges, to quicken after the firm fully pays out year-end bonuses. DealBook »

Bitcoin, Nationless Currency, Still Feels Governments’ Pinch | A recent succession of moves by governments around the world has cast doubts on the legitimacy of the virtual currency. DealBook »

Wall Street Sees Hollywood as a Gateway to Sports and Entertainment | While previous generations of financiers have viewed the talent business as a vanity project, newer deals show that investors are set on remaking the industry. DealBook »

TUESDAY, DEC. 17

Brash Agent Extends Reach in a Big Merger | Ari Emanuel’s company, working with its private equity partner, Silver Lake Partners, won a bidding war with an offer of about $2.3 billion. DealBook »

Deal Professor: Despite Deal Activity Doldrums, a Few Highlights This Year | The number of takeovers is down so far this year, but there were a few interesting ones. The Deal Professor grades the best and worst of them. DealBook »

MONDAY, DEC. 16

S.E.C. Seeks Stiff Fines for Tourre | Four months after being found liable for defrauding investors in a soured mortgage deal, the former Goldman Sachs trader faces $910,000 in fines. DealBook »

DealBook Column: Big Bonuses, But a Shift in Who Gets the Biggest | In a shift of rainmakers on Wall Street, asset and hedge fund managers are edging out bankers when it comes to the size of year-end bonuses, writes Andrew Ross Sorkin. DealBook »

Insider Trading Trial of Former SAC Manager Goes to the Jury | The fate of a former top trader for the hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors hinged on whether or not jurors believed the government’s star witness. DealBook »

Volcker Rule Quickly Hits Utah Bank | Zions Bancorporation says it is taking a charge of $387 million to rid itself of a sizable portfolio of trust-preferred collateralized debt obligations and other C.D.O.’s. DealBook »

SUNDAY, DEC. 15

$5 Billion Deal Is Expected For A.I.G.’s Jet Leasing Arm | The big aircraft leasing unit, regarded as one of the crown jewels in A.I.G.’s empire, was sold a competing business, AerCap Holdings of the Netherlands. DealBook »

WEEK IN VERSE

‘Charlie Brown Christmas Dance’ | If your office party includes dancing, just steal the little red-haired girl’s moves. YouTube »