CDS ban: low definition

What is a credit default swap? The continued reluctance of CDS purveyors to answer this question clearly has contributed to calls from critics – from liberal US Congresswoman Maxine Waters to billionaire hedge fund luminary George Soros – for an outright ban on these instruments. The importance of the CDS market means these pleas are unlikely to succeed. But if banks had been more forthcoming earlier about the true nature of CDS, they might not be in such a bind now. Still, derivatives sellers c...