Japan’s $617 Billion of Bad Orders Raises Broker Concern
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The unleashing of 67.78 trillion yen ($617 billion) of mistaken stock orders in Japan is reviving concern about the accountability of brokers overseeing trades in the world’s second-biggest equity market.
While the orders were canceled before being executed, averting losses for whoever placed them, they highlight the potential for catastrophe anytime someone gets details wrong with instructions to buy or sell securities. One of the biggest American market makers, Knight Capital Group Inc., almost went bankrupt in 2012 after its computers bombarded U.S. exchanges with erroneous orders that couldn’t be undone.