By SIMON CONSTABLE
Listen here.
Place Capitol, Toulouse See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Thursday, May 8, 2025
#EU: LIGHTS OUT SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. @REALCONSTABLE @BATCHELORSHOW OCCITANIE.
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Monday, May 5, 2025
WSJ: FINANCIAL FLASHBACK: 15 YEARS AGO: The 'Flash Crash'
By SIMON CONSTABLE
On May 6, 2010, something so strange happened in the stock market that it puzzled exceptionally experienced traders. Without warning, stock prices went into free fall at 2:42 p.m. ET. Within minutes, the Dow had fallen 998.50 points, then its biggest intraday point drop in history. Much of the drop reversed but the market closed down .
Some stocks, such as Accenture and Boston Beer, fell by as much as 100% for just a moment before rebounding. The normally ultrasteady Procter & Gamble fell by 35% in two minutes.
The plunge quickly became known as the “flash crash.” The question: What caused this?
There’s the fat-finger theory — someone accidentally making a huge stock order, triggering computer-operated algorithms to sell. “The algos didn’t precipitate it, but they contributed,” says Sam Stovall, CFRA’s head of U.S. equity strategy.
Another factor could have been the halt in trading by some algo companies and the political tension on the streets of Greece, was yet another idea. “Televisions showed images of standoffs between Greek police and protesters,” The Wall Street Journal reported. Read more here.
Sunday, May 4, 2025
FOX: Spain's push for net-zero backfires with crippling power outage across 2 nations
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Last Monday was a tough day for citizens of Spain and Portugal.
Both countries were hit by an hourslong power outage that some say was the worst such event in living memory. What they did not get was a clear explanation of how it all happened. At least not from the government. It’s Read more here.
Thursday, May 1, 2025
Financial History Magazine: Tulips, Paper Money, Limited Liability and Financial Crime
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Financial innovations often get overheated. Frequently there seems to be a mania, then a crash, which is followed first by state prosecutions and then acceptance of a new way of doing things. And, true to form, it has happened again seemingly in the form of cryptocurrency, which has fast become a cause célèbre.
Cryptocurrency began in January 2009 with the invention of Bitcoin; it built on the related blockchain technology introduced in 1991. One innovation was that the historical blockchain coding couldn’t be retrospectively altered. It was like a ledger where the prior entries could not be changed. Another distinctive characteristic was there would only ever be a fixed number of Bitcoins available. Once they’d all been discovered, or mined, there could be no more. This differentiated cryptocurrency from dollars, which get devalued as more and more bills get printed. For more than a few people, these two attributes were enough to embrace Bitcoin and blockchain. Read more here.
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