The day the Dow died

Posted at 1:31 PM on May 6, 2011 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

I'll be honest with you. I still struggle to understand exactly what was going on in the last scene of Trading Places, but I at least I knew it was entertaining.

Floor trading is like that, apparently, even if you don't know what's going on. It is soon to be a relic as more trading is taking place online. The day of the floor trader is numbered.

It was one year ago today that the Dow dropped 1,000 points before it recovered before the close. It turned out to be a mistake because someone entered some numbers wrong in a -- and isn't this ironic? -- a computer. But the traders didn't know that.

This floor trader, who works for a Web site that broadcasts him live each day, provided a great "call" of the disaster, rivaling the greatest of horse racing announcers.

Shortly before the close today, the Dow was up about 35 points, in an entirely non-entertaining session.

(h/t: The Big Picture)

Comments (1)

The best way to stabilize our battered economy would be to abolish instant trading and instead require all stock purchases to take thirty days, during which time they could not be used as collateral on other trades. That and putting a 1% tax on all stock transactions.

The notion that you should be able to make money without actually producing a product or service of value has destroyed our way of life. Yes, you should be able to "own" a piece of any company you like, but only if you're planning on holding on to that investment for at least a few months.

Posted by Mark from St Paul | May 6, 2011 3:37 PM

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories