Stephen Mihm, an assistant professor of American history at the University of Georgia has a feature article in the current issue of the Boston Globe called “The Black Box Economy.” Focusing on the shadowy world of ever more sophisticated derivatives, he speculates on the doomsday potential of these instruments that are valued at over ten times the world’s total GDP and that are often based on no underlying asset at all. Some hope is held out by way of the FASB.

Read the article here