I am tired of everyone blaming derivatives for killing the markets and the economy. It's like saying guns kill people when in reality a gun is just as likely to kill as an automobile or a knife!! All of these are TOOLS. Humans invent tools as they are needed! Futures Traders understand risk ! Stock traders understand the risk in Futures. HOwever people undersestimate the risk in individual stocks..the volatility is enormous!!! THere is less overall Volatility in COMMODITIES versus stock... do you think you will wake up tomorrow and see corn or oil drop 80 % NO! LEH , BEar stearns yes! IT is the large "smart" money on Wallstreet that is using derivatives to mask there stupidity. THese wall street firms took a big bet that big government .. "we the people" would bail them out and for fannie and freddie and bear and LTCM it has happened and we are all Footing the bill. IT IS NOT DERIVATIVES stupid !! It is the idiots with MBA's from teh ivy league schools who are bearing little risk in the short run to get large bonuses and then JUMP SHIP.... HAS MF GLOBAL gone insolvent..NO has GOLDMAN no, look people the FCM's in the futures world undrstand risk better than any.. oh yeah refco had issues but that was due to a ceo scamming not individual markets and trading.