1. Introduction
The collapse of Bretton Woods and the abandonment of fixed exchange rates signaled
the start of profound changes in the patterns of accumulation. One important result of those changes has been the increase in avenues for appropriation in the financial sector. These new avenues arose as market actors faced new risks, in the first instance those associated with floating exchange rates. New instruments – such as currency and interest rate futures, options, and swaps – arose to redress these new risks. Hedging on derivatives markets became an imperative for all actors engaged in the trading of foreign currencies. The growth of derivatives markets also provided new opportunities for speculation. more