This I ran across from a member of the Forbes.com Business & Finance Blog Network, posted by Andy Abraham:

 

$63 Trillion Dollar Time Bomb:

1. Fact one: Derivatives are roughly 10 times the value of the entire world's output

2. Derivatives operate outside the grasp of governments, tax inspectors, and regulators

3. The domino effect which could be so enormous and scary

4. It is also impossible to establish their worth

5. Warren Buffett, the billionaire who made his money the old-fashioned way, called them "weapons of mass destruction."

 

What do you think?? Truths or Falsehoods? Succinct or to Simplistic?

I'm not up to date with derivatives.

 

But one thing is for sure, our economy is filled with a lot of time bombs.

A good one-page synopsis of what derivatives are and how they work - http://Kookyplan.pbwiki.com/derivatives