Rogue Computer Traders Spike Nasdaq
from the moving-the-market-by-leaning-on-your-computer dept
ashau wrote in with this article explaining that the spike in the Nasdaq this morning was caused by computer traders responding to an improperly entered price. Somehow, someone put in an order on Exodus stock (yes, the company that declared bankruptcy yesterday) at $100 a share. This caused lots of computers to jump in and start buying stuff, which spiked the market. This is what happens when computers have no common sense (even if this was started by a human error). The article also talks about other shifts in the market that have been caused by computers. The best is the story of a Salomon Brothers trader, who "accidentally" sold $1.2 billion worth of French government bonds by leaning on his keyboard. Oops. Maybe we need a version of Pawsense (the software that locks up your computer when it recognizes the signature paw prints of a cat stepping on the keyboard) for traders' elbows.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
