The stock market sent shock waves through the world economy on Wednesday, falling nearly 1000 points in the early afternoon in a spastic move that was partly reversed within an hour or so of the initial drop. Most startling, seven hundred points of the drop happened in just 15 minutes, leading many to conclude that high frequency trading was behind the selling. More than 2 billion shares traded by the time the market closed at about 10,518, down 350 points.
The shock of the Dow's drop was only outdone by some single stock horror stories. CNBC reported that Accenture shares went from $40 to one cent before bouncing back. Proctor & Gamble went $60 to $40 on the NASDAQ, but not on the NYSE where it never got below $56 due to speed bumps that prevent such free falls....
