I kid you not...
CNBC reports that the selloff that dropped the Dow by 1,000 points before a late rally may have been caused by a traders typo:
In one of the most dizzying half-hours in stock market history, the Dow plunged nearly 1,000 points before paring those losses--all apparently due to a trader error.According to multiple sources, a trader entered a "b" for billion instead of an "m" for million in a trade possibly involving Procter & Gamble, a component in the Dow. (CNBC's Jim Cramer noted suspicious price movement in P&G stock on air during the height of the market selloff.
Of course after hashing through the whether or not such a error occured, they changed course - in the same article no less - as to what it all really means...
The massive selloff, which began shortly after 2 pm ET, amplified concerns about the spreading European debt crisis as the approval of austerity measures by the Greek Parliament sparked renewed rioting in Athens."There is simply a growing recognition that Greece has got to default," banking analyst Dick Bove told CNBC.com. "The riots in the streets showed the decision to repay the debt was not going to be made by the people in Germany, France and Switzerland--it's going to be made by people in Greece and they're not going to repay it."
There also is a growing sense that any collapse of Greece could trigger a wave of defaults across Europe and even the world.
When an EU country teeters on the brink of defaulting on its debts, naturally your first instinct to dump all of your stock in blue-chip consumer product companies, right?
Maybe the Greeks can repay their debt by buying lots of Proctor & Gamble products. That's a win-win for everyone...
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Comments (8)
KevinCan I have your... (Below threshold)1. Posted by HughS | May 6, 2010 8:44 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Kevin
Can I have your graphic?
1. Posted by HughS | May 6, 2010 8:44 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on May 6, 2010 20:44
2. Posted by Kevin | May 6, 2010 8:49 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Sure, though it might look a little funny one on top of another...
I'll add the image to your post.
2. Posted by Kevin | May 6, 2010 8:49 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on May 6, 2010 20:49
3. Posted by tgs | May 6, 2010 10:19 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
I suggest you ignore "media" reports on anything regarding what actually took place and go to the experts: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/day-market-almost-died-courtesy-high-frequency-trading#comment-336083
do not trust the "financial media" they are bought and paid for.
3. Posted by tgs | May 6, 2010 10:19 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on May 6, 2010 22:19
4. Posted by Sir Toby Belch | May 6, 2010 10:25 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Obama speaks no foreign language, despite
his Ivy League affirmative action background.
So....it's all Greek to him. He's trying
his damnedest to turn America into the
exploding country seen daily in the news.
The MSM, of course, sees no parallels.
Obama was born without sin. Live it, learn it,
love it.
4. Posted by Sir Toby Belch | May 6, 2010 10:25 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on May 6, 2010 22:25
5. Posted by _Mike_ | May 6, 2010 10:30 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
While I think bogus trades on 'thin' exchanges and computerized trading are plausible, I don't buy the typo explanation.
Of course, another plausible explanation is that while the Fed can pump money into the economy, it cannot control where that money winds up and that there's an equity bubble that's ready to pop.
The yr/yr improvement was easy due to 2009 being such an extremely poor year; however, I don't believe that this 'recovery' is real (and neither does the administration - 'unemployment will stay high')...
5. Posted by _Mike_ | May 6, 2010 10:30 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on May 6, 2010 22:30
6. Posted by Tsar Nicholas II | May 7, 2010 1:20 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Yeah, but in the toxic swamp of a liberal mind somehow this all has to be Halliburton's and therefore Cheney's fault.
6. Posted by Tsar Nicholas II | May 7, 2010 1:20 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on May 7, 2010 01:20
7. Posted by 914 | May 7, 2010 12:21 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Barrys got them all shook up!
7. Posted by 914 | May 7, 2010 12:21 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on May 7, 2010 12:21
8. Posted by 914 | May 7, 2010 3:05 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
These flowcharts are very racist!!
8. Posted by 914 | May 7, 2010 3:05 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on May 7, 2010 15:05