Shanghai Surprise sends out stock market shockwaves

Having spent the bulk of the day lost in the fantasy land of hockey trade madness, it was a bit of a shock to click onto a news portal at 2 pm today and discover that the world was in some kind of mad dash to the bottom of the stock index for the day.

With stock markets around the world apparently collectively having a melt down, it probably wasn't a good day to be a bank account rep in the RRSP department. Pretty hard to be urging folks to throw all of their money into a pit of Asian Gold futures when the big boards are flashing negative signs with a rapid pace.

With many predicting a bit of uncertainty predicted in the world of stocks for the next while as the market decides on the level of the correction to come, one wonders if it is really the time to test out new financial ideas, especially if you're running the Canada Pension Plan.

So it is with interest I see that the federal government and the provinces have quietly relaxed their leash on the board that manages Canadian Pension Plan investments, allowing it to expand its use of derivatives.

A form of financial wizardry that few know much about, but apparently come ready made with enough potential time bombs to make even the most astute investor be cautious.

You have to admit that the timing is delicious, the government frees the Pension Plan to invest our retirement funds into a system of finance that not many know much about, at the same time that system of finance that we think we understands has its biggest loss in the last four years.

With the early returns from Asia promising much of the same kind of drama on Wednesday, perhaps the CPP should hold off on any radical new ways of funding our retirement plans.

Maybe we should just ask for our individual shares to be cashed out and sent to us in the mail, we can buy 649 tickets or stuff it under the mattress. On days like Tuesday, either seems just as sensible as playing a stock market that can lose two hundred points on the strength of a computer glitch!