For the lazy typists. . .

[FlaSoxxJim]

Wow. Think this guy's going to get that promotion he's been looking for?

 

Fat fingered typing costs a trader’s bosses £285m

From Leo Lewis in Tokyo

 

CLUMSY typing cost a Japanese bank at least £285 million and staff their Christmas bonuses yesterday, after a trader mistakenly sold 600,000 more shares than he was supposed to.

 

The trader at Mizuho Securities, who has not been named, fell foul of what is known in financial circles as “fat finger syndrome” where a dealer types incorrect details into his computer. He wanted to sell one share in a new telecoms company called J Com, for 600,000 yen (about £3,000).

 

Unfortunately, the order went through as a sale of 600,000 shares at 1 yen each.

 

That error alone would have been bad enough, but the consequences were much worse because 600,000 shares represents more than 40 times the total number issued by the company, and the vast discrepancy effectively created a technical shortage of shares, worth about £1.6 billion.

 

Despite Mizuho’s attempts to rectify the mistake, some estimates put the possible financial damage to the firm at about $500 million — a figure that may be big enough to destabilise the securities arm of what is one of the four largest financial groups in the world. . .

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-...-RSS&attr=World

[Texsox]

I heard he was discussing politics on his favorite baseball site

 

Founded in 1950, the Swallows have remained the Central League's most overlooked team for nearly five decades. Because the Yomiuri Giants are so popular in Tokyo, Yakult has a relatively small but loyal base of fans. Since Yakult games are seldom televised, the only way to see the team is to wait until they play against the Giants (all Yomiuri games are broadcast) or visit their home ballpark, Meiji-Jingu Stadium.

The second oldest professional ballpark still in use, Jingu's brick walls date back to 1926. Before the Second World War, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig played in Jingu during an exhibition tour of Japan. The park was renovated in the 1980s, artificial turn was installed on the field, seats were added to the outfield bleachers, and a new scoreboard was added.

Swallows fans know how to celebrate. When Yakult scores a run, a sea of green and blue umbrellas blossom across the right field bleachers as Yakult fans discreetly tell the opposing pitcher it's time he head for the showers.

In their first forty years, the Swallows earned one CL pennant and posted only four winning seasons. But under the leadership of Katsuya Nomura, widely considered Japan's top manager, the Swallows have won four pennants and three Japan Series titles in the last six years. Nomura's blunt style, however, annoyed the team's owners. When the Swallows fell to fourth place in 1998, he announced that he was quitting the team. No one tried to talk him out of leaving.

Under soft-spoken manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu, the Swallows again finished in fourth place. But injuries were partly to blame. Kazuhisa Ishii and Tomohito Ito, Yakult's top starting pitchers, both missed several weeks because of arm trouble.

Despite the team's poor showing, first baseman Roberto Petagine earned the home run crown and reliever Shingo Takatsu led the Central League in saves. Two-time MVP Atsuya Furuta is widely considered the best catcher in Japan.

The Swallows have many talented players though few big-name stars. If all remain healthy, there's no reason the Swallows can't compete for the Central League pennant.

[Mercy!]

Sweet lord. For that kind of foul-up, I'd think that seppuku would be in order. For the trader, the trader's supervisor, and the trader's supervisor's supervisor.

Edited December 9, 2005 by Mercy!

[sox4lifeinPA]

いかに言うか。 um, muligan please??? (muligan UM か。)

[mr_genius]

haha, i worked with someone who made i mistake like this.

 

her mistake only cost the company $2 million.