Draft09 says
4.5.1.3 Single level wildcard
The plus sign ('+' 0x2B) is a wildcard character that matches only one topic level.
The single-level wildcard can be used at any level in the topic filter. It can be used in conjunction with the multilevel wildcard.
It MUST be the only character between two topic level separators, or the last level, or on its own.
The input Specification says:
The single-level wildcard can be used at any level in the topic tree, and in
conjunction with the multilevel wildcard. It must be used next to the topic level
separator, except when it is specified on its own. Therefore, + and finance/+ are
both valid, but finance+ is not valid. The single-level wildcard can be used at the
end of the topic tree or within the topic tree. For example, finance/+ and
finance/+/ibm are both valid.
Apparently the intent of the input specification was to mean "either end of the topic tree" ie at the beginning or the end,
hence +/finance would be a valid topic filter.