The Options Box

[Koikaze]

The Argentine problem shows no signs of going away. I'm not very sophisticated about these things, but I wonder if the combination of Argentina and Enron isn't tugging at the corners of a house of cards. The reports I've read of JPM (JPMorgan Chase) derivative exposure borders on frightening. Things are ugly now, and I'm worried they might get a lot worse. The main thing that gives me hope is that the Fed is likely to engineer another LTCM (Long-Term Capital Management) resolution. That will push the problem a little further into the future, but won't the piper have to be paid one of these days?

Fred