Credit swaps again = insurance

Gretchen Morgenson has another story on the front page of the Sunday NY Times business section on credit derivatives, and those instruments are again described as "insurance contracts."  

I am really surprised there has not been a deluge of people writing in to nuance this description and assure regulators that, of course, these instruments may look like insurance (and are supposedly used like insurance), but are in no case whatsoever actually insurance.

The story, "First Comes the Swap.  Then It's the Knives," is a great read, and begins to reveal some of the dispute between investment bank Paramax and hedge fund UBS.

Share links to other CDO unwinding litigation in the comments....