Hilarious video on the banking sector's role in the financial crisis

This is a true must see: John Bird and John Fortune, two British comediants, stage a fake interview with a City London investment banker. Part I here (other parts follow on youtube.com)

Futures on GDP growth and real estate prices

I have always been a fan of Robert Schiller's idea for increasing social efficiency of financial innovation by providing ways to hedge households against changes in GDP (as proxy for unemployment) and real estate prices. Futures and options based on the Case and Shiller's house price index have been traded by the CME in Chicago since 2006.

I hope that these instruments could also be used more widely in Europe, including Poland. Some useful papers to read are here: 1, 2, 3.