The Trader Who Fell To Earth
Bloomberg Businessweek|May 18, 2020
A new book reveals fresh details about the man blamed for helping cause the 2010 Flash Crash that erased $1 trillion of value in minutes
Pat Regnier
The Trader Who Fell To Earth

On March 9, U.S. stocks had their biggest one-day point drop ever as the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus sank in. Within a week that record had been broken twice, only for the S&P 500 to register its greatest weekly gain in decades in April, after the Federal Reserve intervened by slashing interest rates and buying bonds.

This rattle of volatility arrives 10 years after another famously tumultuous episode in the markets—the so-called Flash Crash of May 6, 2010, when, without warning, the S&P 500 plummeted 5% in four minutes, temporarily erasing $1 trillion. The incident sparked a government investigation and led to questions about whether the rise of high-frequency trading was having a destabilizing impact on the markets. In the end, the U.S. Department of Justice focused on a different culprit: a 36-year-old day trader named Navinder Singh Sarao who operated out of his bedroom in his parents’ suburban semidetached house on the outskirts of London.

With no ties to the world of high finance, Sarao accumulated $70 million buying and selling futures as if he were playing a computer game. The bulk of his winnings came during periods of extreme volatility. He also manipulated the markets, according to the U.S. government, creating a computer program that placed then canceled huge volumes of orders to deceive other participants about supply and demand—a brand-new offense known as “spoofing.” Authorities were careful to assert that Sarao’s antics had only contributed to the crash, essentially by creating false signals others reacted to, but that nuance was lost in the ensuing press coverage.

Esta historia es de la edición May 18, 2020 de Bloomberg Businessweek.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición May 18, 2020 de Bloomberg Businessweek.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEKVer todo
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023