Rogue Trader

On June 30, 2009, the price of oil jumped $1.50 per barrel during the night. This was curious since no major political event had taken place. Well, the Financial Services Authority just released a report that a drunk trader purchased futures contracts on 7 million barrels, which pushed the price up. Even more ironic, the trader was so drunk he didn't even remember doing it. See article here, CNBC.

Futures Exchanges

Most people are familiar with the primary futures exchanges, such as the CBOT, CME, and the NYMEX (all part of the CME Group). However, there are some more specialized (and interesting) exchanges. For example, check out Intrade, which is a futures market based on political outcomes. Also, you can invest based on Hollywood movies (Hollywood Stock Exchange).

High Yield Debt

High Yield Debt is a nice way of saying "junk" debt, i.e., debt that is considered speculative grade. As you would expect, the yield on such debt, due to higher default risk, is higher than standard investment grade debt. However, with historically low interest rates, even the yields on "high yield" debt don't look so high any more. See article here, International Financing Review.