Wall Street fumbles

What happens when you can’t trust the machines and processes of a market that holds your money?  An automated stock trading program – a rogue algorithm, according to traders, flooded the market with millions of trades Wednesday morning, spreading confusion, chaos and great turmoil across Wall Street.  It’s the second time a trading problem happened, following the day Facebook launched its IPO.  Except these mistakes cost money and affect the reputation of the companies involved and confidence in the stock market itself.  Although trading stabilized later Wednesday, with markets ending slightly down, the uncertainty it’s left behind needs to be addressed.

Read more on the New York Times