Moderator's note: I have moved these posts from the Seán Quinn thread
A CFD is a bet on the value of the underlyings in the future. Underlyings are real things, CFDs and other junk bonds are bets on the values of underlyings, the ultimate problem gambler's/thrill seeker's high.
He wasn't buying shares. Had he bought shares, the catastrophe might have been avoided. He was trading in derivatives, better known as junk bonds, which have no assets backing them. It is a gamble that an asset, currency, share, or other tangible will change in value at some future date, either up or down. The bettors never own the asset(s), they are simply gambling on the value of the asset in the future.a) They facilitated anonymity - It wasn’t obvious that he was buying the shares.
A CFD is a bet on the value of the underlyings in the future. Underlyings are real things, CFDs and other junk bonds are bets on the values of underlyings, the ultimate problem gambler's/thrill seeker's high.
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