Plan halted for a futures market on terror

Boston Globe ^ | 7/30/2003. | Robert Schlesinger

[RJCogburn]

A Defense Department program that would have encouraged investors to forecast terrorist attacks, coups, and assassinations - apparently in the belief that market instincts could predict such events - was abruptly canceled yesterday after it came under withering criticism from lawmakers.

[evilC]

No, you are not the only one.

It was a good idea from an academic point of view, but, perhaps a poor one from a political outlook. Me thinks the 'Rats "doth protest too much". This is just more faux outrage from them in another attempt to hit out at the current administration.

This "market" would also have allowed people hedge against political risk and so would have served a useful purpose regardless of any intelligence hints gathered.

At the worst, it was a low cost thought experiment that might have yielded some useful information (whether related to terrorism or not).

[Rodney King]

Thanks for the link!

[snopercod]

If I'm not mistaken, the market crashed specifically because a majority of investors realized that the market was way overvalued and pulled out their money.

Unfortunately, some of us didn't catch on in time :-(