Credit Default Swaps: Bad Enough to Ban?

"Literally 85% of the information that's out there, whether it's in [The Wall Street Journal] or on TV or in the Senate hearings, it's just flat out wrong," the trader says.

He may be right, but it's hard to sympathize with him. Wall Street is a secretive place, as evidenced by his refusal to speak on the record. When 60 Minutes did a report on credit default swaps earlier this month, it was also turned down for interview requests by all the major investment banks.

Wall Street didn't want anyone to understand this business, and now it may be too late. The economy is in shambles, the Democrats are in charge, and patience is thin.