derivatives generally have the following characteristics. 1. Without regulation. 2. Without listing on public exchanges. 3. Without standards. 4. Therefore not in the least bit transparent. 5. Therefore without an open market of the bid/ask type. 6. Dealt in by private treaty negotiations. 7. Without a clearinghouse. 8. Unfunded without financial guarantee of any kind. 9. Functioning as contracts of specific performance. 10. Financial character or ability to perform is totally dependent on the balance sheet of the loser in the arrangement. 11. Evaluated by computer assumptions made by geek, non market experienced mathematicians who assume religiously that all markets return to their normal relationships regardless of disruptions. 12. Now in the credit and default category alone considered by accepted authorities as totaling more than USD$20 trillion in notional value. 13. Notional value becomes real value when the agreement is forced to find a real market for ending the obligation which is how one says sell it. (Jim Sinclair Sept 4, 2007)