Contracts for Difference (CFDs) represent a significant financial innovation in the design of futures contract. Their use in over-the-counter markets has grown significantly and has created controversy in the UK, but to date there have been no published academic studies examining CFD markets. In...

The recent events triggered by the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) have led to calls for regulation of financial (particularly derivative) markets to prevent “destabilizing speculation”. Given that such regulation may involve opportunity costs, this paper examines whether tighter futures price...