CME Group met lowered analyst expectations for its first-quarter earnings per share of $4.02, but net income fell 8.6 percent excluding the prior year’s one-time tax credit. Revenues and trading volumes also declined in the quarter.

High-frequency trading has come under fire since the May, 2010 “flash crash” when the U.S. stock market sharply plummeted, then rebounded, in a matter of minutes. But one Chicago derivatives manager says the high-speed computer-driven trading should be allowed to run its course.

Derivatives can seem intimidating, but with a little bit of knowledge you can begin to navigate this important corner of the investment world. Here are some common terms in the futures and options markets to help get you going.

Combining wit and humor, Satyajit Das shares some brutally honest yet enlightening insights collected during his 25 years in the derivatives market.

Liar’s Poker is a highly entertaining book about Wall Street in the late 80′s, an insider’s view on how one of the most successful investment firms of that era operated.

The U.S. Senate passed the Frank-Dodd financial reform bill aimed at preventing a repeat of the 2008 credit crisis.

In Richard Bookstaber’s 2007 recounting of every major financial crisis since the 1980s, the details are everything.

"F.I.A.S.C.O.:Blood in the Water on Wall Street" is about Frank Partnoy's journey through Wall Street and what happens when derivatives creation gets out of hand. (image courtesy of Frank Partnoy)

John Taylor delivers Friday's keynote address at the ISDA annual general meeting. (Alexandra Harris/MEDILL)

“It’s amazing what facts can show and not rhetoric,” ISDA CEO Conrad “Connie” Voldstad said.

Panelists discuss the need for regulation during "Systemic Risk: Advances and Challenges in the Wake of the Crisis" at the ISDA General Meeting. (Alexandra Harris/MEDILL)