Thursday, May 06, 2010

Bloomberg: U.S. Stocks Plunge Most in Years as ’Panic Selling’ Grips The Market

Oops, nevermind... we now learn it was just a minor data entry screwup

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 Typo
Something 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.

20 comments:

Danny said...

Comments:

Great take - oops - somebody must have hit a "b" instead of an "m". Did a "billion" instead of a "million." Bonds and stocks plunge, global mayhem, all because of a fat finger! So says MSNBC. And they are serious! Hahahahaha!

Perhaps now is a good time to educate people. When the market moves and the news media says WHY it moves, understand they HAVE NO IDEA WHY IT MOVES.

One of the hedge fund parasites said, "The ECB can fix this instantly by doing what the Fed has done -- instantly providing liquidity by buying bad fixed-income instruments and paying cash in U.S. dollars"

Get it? The European Central Bank can do what the US Fed has done, namely buy bad bets from their cronies using money they create out of thin air. Make your cronies whole and send them back into the casino. All is well. Hahahahahaha!

Take one look at that chart today then tell me things are under control, guided by the careful hand of governments around the world.

It looks to me like the old saying is true: Everything burns.

Dorothy Littrell said...

The problem in today's trading was caused by the speed with which millions of orders were sent out and filled in nano-seconds due to the incredible internet speed of execution.

The possibility of what happened today has been discussed as always being a potential problem.

So you trade the market in a defensive position at all times if you are trading stocks by using puts and calls to defend your position.

Just be very cautious with what you trade and how you trade it.

At this time I don't think they have determined if the error was caused by a human error in execution of entering trades.

The only solution to the problem that I can see is to slow down the actual execution of a trade.

In the meantime, just use discretion and caution when trading.

Dorothy Littrell said...

One more aspect of the events that occurred today.

What the lay person must take into account is that when a certain trade is executed there is already in the computers an offsetting trade in the event certain parameters have been met which trigger the trade.

That offsetting trade is dependent upon certain citeria being met which means that the computers take over at that time and the trade is executed with no additional human input at that time.

That offsetting criteria could have been entered months earlier.

Maybe this will help someone not familar with markets understand that the computers just take over at a certain point in many trades.

Most huge trades are not simple to understand because they are based on certain eventualities occurring that cause the computers to instantly do that trade. No human input is involved at that point.

Danny said...

Dorothy,

"New York Stock Exchange spokesman Rich Adamonis said “there were a number of erroneous trades” during the tumble. The NYSE told CNBC that there were no system errors as speculation of bad trades swirled through the market."

Note that every market fell. Note that bonds, both junk and investment grade, fell. Note that treasuries soared. Note that the dollar soared.

Then they all backed off, together.

Human error? Of course it was human error.

It was the error of investment banks, all flush with Fed money, having stops in the same places that were tripped as the market fell, causing more selling. Once then knew they were sold out, they all came back in at the same time.

It was the error of a corrupt crony system of group thinking butt kissers.

It was the error of a corrupt Fed that pumped our money into these banks, with no public disclosure of who and how much.

It was human error thinking the government is our daddy who will save people from their own stupidity.

The markets moved as one, as if mad, because the crony banks are one, and are mad.

Occam's Razor is the explanation.

It was not technology at fault. It was human beings.

When the dead wood is this high, the fire will come.

nicely done said...

Here is perhaps the best I have found on this....too big to post the html.....

Mr. President: Unplug the F*ing Computers

and before we start on the repub crap, he voted for Obama.

ozboy said...

Dorothy & Danny

You both seem to have some understanding of what all this crap is about. Perhaps you could answer the following:

It seems to be all about "trading", ie - rolling the dice at the big casino. Does any of these big players ever buy stocks and bonds as investments any more, or is the whole market just another Las Vegas? What would be the results if the gummint just simply outlawed all of these ultra complicated gambling schemes like the notorious derivatives scams we here so much about and that no one seems able to really explain what they are and how they work?

When and how did the whole Wall Street game become such a complicated mess anyway?

nicely done said...

The repeal of Glass-Steagall was the beginning in 1987.

corroded said...

This is no more unbelievable as Ogden City increasing its budget for the next fiscal year. What recession?

Google Ganderer said...

SL and Other Cities Woes

Danny said...

Banks need to be limited in size and prevented from speculating with depositor's money!

They need to be allowed to fail.

The Federal Reserve needs to be audited.

There are efforts afoot in congress to do these things.

googlegirl said...

NYSE, Nasdaq Cancel Some Trades at Height of Thursday's Volatility

googlegirl said...

Citigroup Trading Error Cause Market To Crash? Citigroup Says No

googlegirl said...

As Dow Swings, Obama To Come Out Against Audit the Fed Today

Plan for Congressional Audits of Fed Dies in Senate

Danny said...

Funny,

The corrupt Senate was killing these proposals even as I was typing them!

zerohedge.com has some articles on today's action.

It may seem complicated, but it boils down to powerful people who are driven by, and only by, greed.

Just when I think I've seen the limits of greed corruption, I realize there is no limit, and it is beyond even what I could have imagined.

The fire will rage. Only fire can save the world now. It is easy to predict. What is more difficult to predict, is When.

less government said...

It must have been a TEABAGGER at the wheel

nicely done said...

This "Fat Finger" excuse is getting old and sold by the morons in mainstream media...just like the rogue trader incident in 08....

More On Yesterday's Plunge

Sabu said...

What happened yesterday was not only the auto trading and various glitches, it is the realization that the socialistic leaning governments all over Europe have leveraged themselves to the limit.

Deficit spending and the "Government can do everything" attitude is catching up with them all. Soon to be affected will be the United States thanks to Obama. He has increased the debt with the Heath Care Joke and he is well on his way with his socialistic agenda. It will be hitting main street soon.

I hope we soon see him talking to Oprah and all those ovepaid sports, TV and movie people and he is going to tell them that "they make too much money"

Don't hold your breath for that to happen.

Peter Tork said...

The problem is obviously too many people expecting their wealth to increase through investments, indefinitely, whilst burning zero calories to produce anything of real value.

And they expect to live like mega-kings, while the rest of the world who actually supports their fat asses starves in a hard working, calorie burning, low-wage slavery.

And, the mega-kings expect this lop-sided greed-based planet-killing ant-humanity system to last FOREVER~~~~~~~~
I got news for you all; it is evil, it is idiocy, and it is just about over.

What follows will be worse, of course.

Chester B. Arthur said...

Sabu has it right. All of this deficit spending will have to be paid at some point, and that means a reduction in government benefits ( a la Greece) that will cause riots in the streets even here in the USA. Anytime you increase taxes and reduce benefits of the increasing government handouts, the people will be in the streets. Obama has us on that course right now, so thanks Obama if we have forgotten to show our appreciation.

Every time Americans support this lunatic and his socialization moves, we put ourselves closer to
the destruction of our way of life.

GORGOGEIGER said...

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