Too funny! The U.S. stock market (the Dow) tanked almost 1,000 points today for a few minutes this afternoon, triggering massive panic selling which went on for hours. Here's the nitty-gritty, per Bloomberg.com:
U.S. stocks tumbled the most in a year on concern Europe’s debt crisis will halt the global recovery. The selloff briefly erased more than $1 trillion in market value as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 1,000 points, its biggest percentage loss since 1987, before paring the drop.Oops, nevermind... we now learn it was (we are not making this up) just a minor data entry screwup:
• Village Voice: Dow Plunges 1,000 Points in 15 Minutes, Possibly Due to TypoSomething like a trillion dollars in securities traded hands during a spastic fear-driven trading frenzy for a couple of hours in mid-afternoon, due to what's now reported to have been a purported "fat-finger" clerical screwup:
We swear NOBODY could make up a story like this.Do you still have confidence in U.S. financial markets, folks?
If so, please chime in below and explain to us how it's possible that you could be so danged dumb.
