There do appear to be, at a minimum, signs of froth in some local markets,

I'm sorry I used that term. It's one which does suggest a froth in the market place. I would hesitate to use it in today's context.

I do not deny that many appear to have succeeded in a material way by cutting corners and by manipulating associates, both in their professional and in their personal lives. But material success is possible in this world and far more satisfying when it comes without exploiting others.

Derivative instruments were bystanders, ... They may well have intensified the losses in underlying markets, but they were scarcely the major players.

The problem is you cannot have free global trade with highly restrictive, regulated domestic markets.

Markets do very weird things because it reacts to how people behave, and sometimes people are a little screwy.