
Chapter 5
Derivatives clearing and
settlement
The development of futures and options
Today, futures and options markets are global and trade contracts on
a wide range of products encompassing currencies, commodities,
interest rates, shares, indices and even wine and catastrophe
insurance. This vast array of products traded today would seem
unbelievable to the farmers and merchants of the Midwest of the
United States of America who first started trading futures contracts,
in a form similar to today, in the mid-1800s. The development of
futures markets can in fact be traced back to the Middle Ages and
revolved around the supply and demand of farmers and merchants. ...