The value of a derivative is derived from some other asset. The big one in 2008 was mortgage-backed securities (MBS), securities created from groups of mortgages. These "tranches" were loosely valued by the mortgages they contained, and then sold as investments. Multiple times!
The value of a derivative is derived from some other asset. The big one in 2008 was mortgage-backed securities (MBS), securities created from groups of mortgages. These "tranches" were loosely valued by the mortgages they contained, and then sold as investments. Multiple times!
Basically our usury masters creating something out of thing air with no intrinsic value, and getting idiots to buy it.