Although this paper does not address the question of whether society would benefit from more or less disclosure of information of common interest by competing companies, it sheds much light on the incentives underlying the observed behaviour of firms, and their managers' attitudes to attempts by governments to mandate further disclosure. In the past twenty-five years, academic economists have devised new, artificial or synthetic, instruments to be exchanged in markets. With these new instruments have come new markets, and the discipline of market design. With new markets have emerged new market behaviours, which may sometimes have influenced traditional markets. Unlike other futures contracts, all stock index futures contracts call for cash settlement, instead of delivery of the underlying shares of stock.
Settlement usually brings a large volume of trading, and sometimes sharp price changes.
Risk is also the focus of Hazel Bateman 's paper, which considers the role of financial options for the managers of pension funds. Using extensive stochastic simulations, the author argues that portfolio insurance, in the form of combinations of equities and traded options, can offer a reasonable trade-off for such managers. After adjusting for the Reserve Bank's direct interventions in the market, the paper concludes that the Governor's statements probably had some steadying influence on the value of the Australian dollar during a period of political uncertainty. Lex Donaldson 's review of the book by Finkelstein and Humbrick provides some managerial counter to the predominance of finance, accounting, and economics of the four papers in this issue. The Journal has not previously published a graduating address, but this issue's Counterpoint is devoted to the address given by Neville Roach of Fujitsu Australia in May 1997.