Really?? Someone with fat fingers and one keystroke brought the NYSE to near panic?? [View All]

In a matter of a few minutes??? Color me astounded. Also sceptical.

I would sooner think someone had an agenda.


http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64631Y20100507

The slide, which in one 10-minute stretch knocked the index down nearly 700 points, may have been triggered by a trading error. Major stock indexes eventually recovered from their 9 percent drops to close down a little more than 3 percent.

But the follow-through selling that pushed stocks of some highly regarded companies into tailspins exacerbated concerns that regulators can quickly lose control of the markets in a world of algorithmic trading.

(snip)

One NYSE employee leaving the Big Board's headquarters in lower Manhattan said the P&G share plunge lay at the center of whatever happened.

"I'll give you a tip," the employee said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "P&G. Check out the low sale of the day. Something screwed up with the system. It traded down $30 at one point."

(snip)

"It validates the decision to offer a hybrid market here where there's a human component married with the electronic," Louis Pastina, executive vice president of NYSE Operations told Reuters in an interview.

The NYSE's rivals advertise lower prices or faster transaction speeds.



http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64631Y20100507

(snip)

Kaufman and Senator Mark Warner -- both Democrats -- said Congress needs to investigate the plunge, which at its deepest point wiped nearly $1 trillion off equity values.

And a House panel has slated a hearing on the causes for the market swoon for next Tuesday, with its chairman, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, urging the SEC to investigate as well.

The scary afternoon in markets came at a bad time for Wall Street, already reeling from accusations that it is a rigged casino -- a criticism stoked by recent civil fraud allegations against Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The industry has been trying to stave off the Obama administration's calls for tough financial regulation, and the sell-off came as the Senate turned back a Republican effort to weaken a plan to set up a financial consumer watchdog.

(end snips)

So, somebody with fat fingers, or someone with a fat head and a fatter wallet?