A picture is worth a thousand words...or, in this case a trillion dollars. It's very hard to get a grasp of what the 278 trillion in the derivatives market looks like, but this series of graphics, with links to supporting articles, comes as close as anything.
But they missed something: the total derivatives market for the world is at least $700 Trillion - more than twice the amount shown in the last graphic. No government in the world has even a fraction of the money needed to bail out the derivatives market. The only solution is to declare all derivatives contracts where EITHER party cannot pay, null and void. No financial firm practicing due diligence would ever go into these kinds of contracts. They need to lose the entire bet, both sides. Then, maybe be penalized for fraud. |