Matt has raised some major questions about the future of ETFs and ETNs in the wake of the huge bailout of the banking sector. I'm going to reflect on those for a little longer before replying ... at least for a few paragraphs.

Where to start? Here are some loosely connected thoughts on the action of the last few days and this historic period in the financial markets, which will enter the history books as the great crash of 2008.

So it's an October start in my new role as European editor for IndexUniverse, and for my first blog on www.indexuniverse.eu. In keeping both with the season and the tone for 2008 so far, plunging financial markets continue to dominate the world news.

The main argument in favor of ETNs has always been that they can offer effective access to niche areas of the market, where traditional methods of indexation might be difficult or even impractical...