Dow plunges 1,000 points!!

[Loki]

Today!! :eek: ... but recovered half later on. Incredible, never seen anything like it before!

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/5010/dowpi.jpg

Blame the Greeks (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stocks-extend-plunge-on-apf-892184148.html?x=0)! :D

[Allenson]

It's all Absinthe's fault.

But yeah, folks at work are all a-twitter about it today--ya know, retirement accounts and whatnot. Last I'd heard before seeing this was that it was down 600 points.

[The Lawspeaker]

That sounds like a crash in the making...

[RoyBatty]

This organisation predicted / foresaw the recent economic crash we experienced and also predicted a second crash which would follow the apparent "recovery phase" (which we are in at the moment.)

If their analysis is correct we'll soon be entering another crash if we're not already seeing the makings of it right now.

Worth bookmarking this site if you're interested in global affairs:

http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-43-is-available-Global-systemic-crisis-USA-UK-The-explosive-duo-of-the-second-half-of-2010-Summer-2010-The-Bank_a4531.html


Some excerpts:



GEAB N°44 is available! Global systemic crisis / USA-UK - The explosive duo of the second half of 2010: Summer 2010 - The Bank of England battle / Winter 2010 - The Fed at risk of bankruptcy

- Public announcement GEAB N°44 (April 16, 2010) -



Just as LEAP/E2020 anticipated many months ago, and in contrast to the reports coming out of the media and the « experts » during these past few weeks, Greece really has the Eurozone behind it to give support and credibility (especially concerning good management in the future, the only guarantee of an escape from a damnable cycle of growing public deficits (1)). There will not be, then, any Greek default of payment even if the commotion over the Greek situation really is an indication of a growing awareness that money to finance the huge Western public debt is becoming increasingly difficult to find: a situation now « untenable » as a recent report of the Bank of International Settlements underlined.

The fuss made over Greece by the English and US media in particular tried to hide from the majority of the economic, financial and political players the fact that the Greek problem wasn’t a sign of an upcoming Eurozone crisis (2) but, in fact, an early warning of the next big shock of the global systemic crisis, that is to say a collision between, on the one hand, the virtual British and US economies founded on untenable levels of public and private debt and, on the other hand, the double wall of borrowing, maturing from 2011 onwards, combined with a global shortage of available funds for refinancing at low rates.

As we have explained since February 2006, at the time of our anticipation of its imminent arrival, one mustn’t forget that the current crisis has its origin in the collapse of the world order created after 1945, of which the United States was the support, assisted by the United Kingdom. Also, in order to understand the real effect of events caused by the crisis (the Greek case, for example), it is useful to relate their significance to the structural weaknesses which characterise the heart of the world in full meltdown: so, for our team, the « Greek finger » doesn’t cite the Eurozone as much as the explosive dangers of the exponential financing needs of the United Kingdom and the United States (3).

[Allenson]

http://www.chemistry-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/endisnear.jpg

[anonymaus]

Caused by a typo, apparently.


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 [PG 60.75 -1.41 (-2.27%) ], 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.)

source (http://www.cnbc.com/id/36999483)

[Grumpy Cat]

LOL. I hope it wasn't a typo on one of the bank I work for's systems.

[Absinthe]

LOL! :D

But what is that with the stock market and the Dow Jones and all that jazz? I never got this thing.
It was always, back to small autonomous communities and growing your own veggies for this hippie here!

[Austin]

yay let it burn (:

[Cato]

Eh, life goes on. Fuck Wall Street.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Ended only down 347.8

Won't have any long term effect, I think

[Allenson]

Unreal--all because of some glitch, from what I gather.

We'll see what today brings!




It was always, back to small autonomous communities and growing your own veggies for this hippie here!

I'm with you. We just have to use the other door though. :cool:

http://api.ning.com/files/sTXhBWCJDYzq3Qvc311vQ2ncHu1aOchg-CSzsp--Wv1bsZ6E98Ooj-DG0yrVqNGyKxQHKS-BM1jOYDMglcYSVWqHL0IErbzS/1102HippiesUseSideDoor.jpg

[Vulpix]

Unreal--all because of some glitch, from what I gather.

No, the glitches are said to account for about half of the massive sell-off.

[Wölfin]

Whoever typoed b instead of m must be kicking themselves mercilessly.

[poiuytrewq0987]

It's funny how the stock market plunged as soon as Merkel announced that she was going to help Greece. The funny part, is that it was said that the stock market would take a hit if Germany didn't bail out Greece.

[Svanhild]

Caused by a typo, apparently.

http://tmgeo.net/images/cat_on_computer_1.jpg
"NO I WAS NOT MAKING TYPOOO! NOOOO! I AM CAT AND WHAT IS THIS?" :wink

[SuuT]

No, the glitches are said to account for about half of the massive sell-off.

And 3/4 of the other half were probably caused by over reactions to the uncertainty of what was occurring.



A blip on the radar. Nothing. And very little to do with Greece.

[Groenewolf]

Typo, who knows. If it is not a typo, then we will know soon enough when the sell-panic will really hits the floor.

[Tolleson]

Typo, who knows. If it is not a typo, then we will know soon enough when the sell-panic will really hits the floor.

Fat fingers, perhaps! :D

[Treffie]

I've got a bad feeling that the shit is really going to hit the fan soon.

[Birka]

There is starting to be some theories that this was not just a mistake.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8f6fbb7e-59ff-11df-acdc-00144feab49a.html

I will bet George Soros did not lose money. Find out who made money on this fiasco and start scratching there for the culprit.

[Loki]

'No smoking gun' in flash crash (http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/11/markets/House_financial_flash_crash/index.htm)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Last week's brief-but-historic stock market plunge was triggered by a combination of unusual factors, but its ultimate cause remains a mystery, executives from the nation's leading stock exchanges and market regulators told Congress on Tuesday.

A House Financial Services subcommittee is investigating the causes of the so-called flash crash and exploring ways to safeguard markets against technical glitches and erroneous trades.

Among those set to testify at a hearing Tuesday are regulators as well as representatives of NYSE Euronext and the Nasdaq Omx Group.

"Nasdaq continues to investigate Thursday's events, but has at present located no 'smoking gun' that single-handedly caused or explains Thursday's events," Eric Noll, executive vice president of Nasdaq, said in written testimony.

Mary Schapiro, chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said that the SEC cannot point a single cause behind the events of May 6. The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 1,000 points, representing about $1 trillion in market value, between 2:40 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET last Thursday.

The market recovered about 650 points of that loss nearly as quickly as it fell. But the free fall raised serious questions about the stability of electronic trading and has prompted talk of new regulations.

Schapiro said her agency's preliminary investigation has looked at a sharp drop in the value of a particular stock future called the E-mini S&P 500, which investors use to bet on the future performance of stocks in the broad stock index.

The E-mini S&P 500 futures price fell by more than 5% in a few minutes and then quickly recovered, according to Schapiro.

"It should be no surprise that the broader stock market indexes showed similarly fast and similarly large declines and recoveries," Schapiro said, since stock prices follow futures prices.

But the correlation doesn't fully explain what happed on Thursday, she added, saying "It could have as readily been events or anomalous activities in individual stocks that caused someone to trade first in the futures markets."

The SEC is also looking into "massive intraday price swings" in shares of many Exchange Traded Funds as a possible factor in the crash, Schapiro said. The shares of more than a quarter of all ETFs experienced brief declines of more than 50% in Thursday's tumult.

"Ultimately, we may learn that the extraordinary disruption in trading, however it may have been triggered, was the result of a confluence of events which, taken together, exacerbated what already had been a down day and led to an extraordinarily steep price drop and recovery," said Schapiro.

Circuit breaker champion has second thoughts
At the same time, the SEC has found no evidence of "fat finger" errors, which occur when a trader mistakenly orders billions of shares instead of millions, according to Schapiro. But such trades cannot be completely ruled out as a contributing factor.

Schapiro also said it's unlikely that exceptionally large orders in Proctor & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500) shares caused the meltdown. In addition, she said the SEC has found no information to suggest the collapse was caused by hackers or terrorists.

Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman announced a new joint committee that will address emerging regulatory issues.

The committee will conduct a review of last Thursday's market events and the disparate trading conventions and rules across various markets.

Noll, the Nasdaq executive, and Larry Leibowitz, chief operating officer of NYSE Euronext, told lawmakers that markets were jittery going into Thursday's tailspin -- a factor that could have contributed to the abrupt and panicky selloff.

The two executives also indicated that a lack of coordination between exchanges, allowing electronic trading to continue after manual trading had been paused, was a factor.

"Although some of the underlying economic and global financial conditions that influenced this selling activity are known, the exact succession of events and what precipitated them remain unclear," Leibowitz said.

Noll testified that the crash was triggered by "a confluence of unusual events," adding that Nasdaq experienced "no system malfunctions or aberrations."

The SEC and representatives from the six main stock exchanges, along with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, agreed on Monday to a "structural framework" aimed at preventing a repeat of Thursday's crash.

The framework would strengthening circuit breakers, trigger points that stocks need to hit before trading can be halted, and steps for handling erroneous trades. It will be refined Tuesday, according to Schapiro.

In addition, she said commission staffers are now stationed at all major markets to monitor trading as of Monday.

[anonymaus]

'No smoking gun' in flash crash (http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/11/markets/House_financial_flash_crash/index.htm)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Last week's brief-but-historic stock market plunge was triggered by a combination of unusual factors, but its ultimate cause remains a mystery, executives from the nation's leading stock exchanges and market regulators told Congress on Tuesday.

...

At the same time, the SEC has found no evidence of "fat finger" errors, which occur when a trader mistakenly orders billions of shares instead of millions, according to Schapiro. But such trades cannot be completely ruled out as a contributing factor.

Well that seems like a silly thing to say: there's no evidence whatsoever, but we have to consider it.