“Lurching From Port to Starboard”
My favorite quotes assessing yesterday’s market action follow.
(Note: ‘HFT’ stands for “High Frequency Trading”; “fat finger” refers to the rumor circulating that someone at Citigroup mistakenly entered a trade with “billion” instead of “million” entered.)
Personally, I find it hard to believe that a clerical error could be the culprit.
If this wild ride continues, it will provide further evidence that markets need adult supervision.
–Floyd Norris, The New York Times
What happened today was no fat finger, it was no panic selling by one major account: it was simply the impact of everyone in the HFT community going from port to starboard on the boat, at precisely the same time.
–Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge Blog
Good thing we never let the adolescents and greedheads on Wall Street get their hands on the housing market . . .
P.S.: Continuing with the theme of “taking responsibility” . . . . how about if, a trading glitch was at the heart of yesterday’s melt-down, the head of the NYSE (or whoever else is in charge) gives a press conference explaining exactly what happened?