OK, so it turns out that a computer glitch is at least partly responsible for yesterday's big drop in the stock market. Apparently, trading got so heavy the computers couldn't keep up, and when they finally did, they showed a 200-point flameout in less than a minute.
Not surprisingly, that spooked many traders, who jumped on board trying to dump their positions as fast as they could.
Without the glitch, weakness in China, the attempt to bomb Cheney in Afghanistan, and Greenspan's comments about a possible recession in the US later this year still would have driven the market down, but perhaps not as fast or as far.
Fortunately, the effects of technical problems like this seem to be temporary. As of this writing, the Dow is back up some 100 points.
Phew!
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