Under the counter

Stock in a rutIt's that time of year again when the derivatives industry gets out its parkas and crampons to hike up to the top of a Swiss mountain for SFOA's Bürgenstock get-together. A fixture on the futures calendar for many years, 2006 will be the last meeting in Bürgenstock for a while at least as the resort is being renovated in 2007, forcing a move to Montreux. However, scanning the events programme for this year one cannot help but wonder whether it is only the resort that is due for a lick of paint: while there is no doubt that the meeting will be as well-attended as ever and produce the usual lively dialogue, the seminar itinerary appears to lack some potential for fireworks. Unlike previous years, none of the 'big six' exchange heads are speaking on panels (perhaps something to do with their increasingly public ownership, although that...