ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

Trading firm company loses $225 million in minutes — all because an employee made a simple typo

The firm tried to cancel the trade but an error in the system prevented it from doing so.
PUBLISHED NOV 18, 2024
Picture representing a worried trader at the stock market (Cover image source: Getty Images | Andrew Burton)
Picture representing a worried trader at the stock market (Cover image source: Getty Images | Andrew Burton)

The stock market is a space where people can earn a hefty return on investments with some assistance from trading firms, which are known for their insights. But even with all their expertise and knowledge of market behavior, a small mistake can result in massive losses for such firms. Something similar happened to Mizuho Securities Company which wanted to sell 610,000 shares for one yen. It was later revealed that the firm didn't want to do that, and the confusion was caused by a simple typo. The firm reportedly wanted to sell one share of employment agency J-Com Company at 610,000 yen ($3946.09). But the number of shares that Mizuho ended up mentioning in its order was 41 times that of J-Com's true outstanding amount. But, the Tokyo Stock Exchange processed the order anyway, as reported by CBS News

Stock price chart | (Image Source: Getty Images | Yuichiro Chino)
Chart showing the fluctuating rate of shares | (Image Source: Getty Images | Yuichiro Chino)

The firm quickly tried to cancel the incorrect share sale but all of their efforts were in vain. The mistake ultimately cost the firm a whopping 40.7 billion yen, which was equal to around $225 million at the time.

Later Japan's Financial Service Agency launched an investigation into the matter to see what went wrong. Economy and Banking Mister Kaoru Yosano later said in an interview, "In order to maintain the credibility of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, I very strongly want this issue to be resolved quickly. The first thing for the Financial Services Agency to do is to determine what happened in detail. Based on that, we will decide what is needed based on the rules and regulations." The Japanese court later ordered the Tokyo Stock Exchange to pay Mizuho Securities a whopping 10.7 billion (~$69.2 million) yen as compensation after admitting that a system error prevented the firm from canceling the sale.

Tokyo Stock Exchange | (Image Source: Getty Images | Yuichi Yamazaki)
Image representing the Tokyo Stock Exchange | (Image Source: Getty Images | Yuichi Yamazaki)

One more story that shows just how costly small mistakes can be, a woman had to say goodbye to her lottery winnings after she made a mistake. Denise Rossi, a woman who won the $1.3 million jackpot, unfortunately lost all her winning after she decided to keep the winnings a secret from her husband during their divorce proceedings. Rossi later found out the hard way that hiding the assets was a wrong move. She later argued in court that she was simply protecting the money from him but the judge was not convinced. 



 

The husband later claimed that the wife left him only after winning the lottery while Denise argues that she had been contemplating the decision for years. "If it wasn’t for the lotto, Denise and I would probably still be together," Thomas said. Later Connolly Oyler, Denise's attorney, said that if she’d have disclosed her win to him, he might have been able to save her from losing the fortune. "I could have argued successfully that it was her separate property,” he said. “Or we could have argued, and we would have reached some adjustment. But the judge got mad and gave it all to him," he added. Finally, Denise had to pay him 20 annual installments of $66,800.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The sharks did not expect the product to taste as good as it did, considering what it was made from.
4 hours ago
The designer was also commissioned by top brands and worked for the royal family.
5 hours ago
The host had a look of bewilderment on his face which was absolutely hilarious.
6 hours ago
Things did not seem to be going well for the entrepreneur due to her high energy.
9 hours ago
The guest might have had high expectations, but they were quickly brought down to earth.
10 hours ago
The contestant was unable to contain her excitement and hugged the model.
1 day ago
Two of the players got it right, and while the player who lost didn't mind, fans were not satisfied.
1 day ago
Lisa celebrated her birthday in style with a perfect two-card guess to win the big prize.
1 day ago
Rick Harrison did what he could to console the guest who said that he had lost faith in NASCAR.
1 day ago
Both the guest and the expert were fascinated by how well the automaton worked.
2 days ago
One of the entrepreneurs broke down in tears, explaining all the struggles they had to go through.
2 days ago
She couldn’t believe it when her doll was appraised at a five-figure sum, and laughed in disbelief.
2 days ago
Ken Jennings truly has embraced "Jeopardy!" in every way possible at this point.
2 days ago
The comedian was impressed by the simplicity of the product and amused by the pitch.
3 days ago
Harrison usually makes smart deals on the show, but this vintage car buy turned into a costly mistake.
3 days ago
Had she started the game in a better way, she might have won the five-figure prize money.
3 days ago
Barbara Corcoran made the exact same offer, and she wasn't happy about being rejected.
4 days ago
The guest believed that it was worth a modest amount of money, but that was clearly not the case.
4 days ago
With James Holzhauer in the lead, Amy Schneider and Andrew He decided to joke around.
4 days ago
Barbara Corcoran told the founders that she had never seen Greiner so passionate.
4 days ago