Jonathan Swift s eighteenth century barb resonates in today s world of financial intermediation now, as then, finance shrouds its complication of knavery and cozenage in unintelligible jargon.

LONDON Through the contrivance and cunning of stock jobbers there hath been brought in such a complication of knavery and cozenage, such a mystery of iniquity, and such an unintelligible jargon of terms to involve it in, as were never known in any other age or country.