(Community Matters) I thought the graphics in the AAS story had to be miscalibrated when I read the story, so I wrote to AAS and they wrote to their source at Bloomberg. But, they heard back from Bloomberg and confirmed to me the approaching $600 trillion figure is the “total notional amount of all the derivatives markets.” Mind boggling – our government estimates 2006 US GDP at $13 trillion.
from Wikipedia: The notional amount (or notional principal amount or notional value) on a financial instrument is the nominal or face amount that is used to calculate payments made on that instrument. This amount generally does not change hands and is thus referred to as notional.
Community Matters 