Dow drops 8%

...and then recovers 700 points less than 20 minutes later. Just a little volatility out there...

It's amazing how many of the automated trading programs think exactly the same.

"I wish I had a definitive answer," said William Fitzpatrick, an equities analyst at Optique Capital Management. "I think the information from Greece and Europe continues to get worse and that is what is weighing on investors."

The phrase 'weighing on investors' suggests that they are making measured decisions, and investing carefully, concerned with the long (or even medium term) prospects of what those investments stand for. None of that really seems reflected in the way the system operates today. It seems to me, the large part of the transactions are automated and so far disengaged from the real world (derivatives etc) that they are effectively meaningless. Everytime the market does move, every expert has their own interpretation of what the Brownian motion means today.

Luckily it seems to be rebounding. As the Dow approaches 11,000 wasn't it not long ago we were saying it might never get back to 10,000. Funny how that works. Just wish I had more money to invest!

HFT algos going crazy? ZeroHedge is going to have a field day with this one