Swimming in Times of Financial Meltdown

Last night, as I was swimming my laps at Stadthallenbad (without the Mermaid who is currently holidaying in the sun with her Prince Charming), minding my own business when a guy sitting by the poolside caught my attention. He was sprawled out on the tiled stairs/benches, completely engrossed in a book. Now I can never understand why anyone feels inclined to spend a minute longer than is absolutely necessary in that chilly environment, let alone allow their towels to touch a surface that shouts "fungus! mycosis! athlete's foot! nasty infection!" all at the same time.

Anyway, the guy was reading a book entitled "Optionen und Futures Verstehen". (Understanding Options and Futures).

Was he an investment banker who had bluffed his way up to the management floor but now wanted to catch up on the fundamentals before he was publicly exposed? Was he a minnow private investor who had watched his stocks dwindle to nothing and wanted to invest more wisely now? Or did he simply find swimming more boring even than books on financial subjects.

I almost asked him.