The stock market was already on edge because of the financial crisis in Greece. Images of mobs demonstrating in Athens were fueling an underlying panic. There's a growing fear that a financial collapse in Greece could trigger a wave of financial trouble across Europe (and possibly even the world).
Early in the morning, some stocks swung wildly on unusually high trading volume, after what appeared to be technical miscues. The New York Stock Exchange said it was investigating unusual trades in 140 stocks.
Unusual Option Activity
Listed below are options with unusually high volume for the most recent trading session compared with average daily volume. The relative level of activity is expressed in the daily volume ratio, which represents the current day's volume divided by the average daily volume for the past month.
As Of 12:00 P.M. EDT Wednesday, August 01, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Data provided by SchaeffersResearch.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The SEC's Investigation
Shortly after the 911 attacks the SEC circulated a list of stocks to securities firms around the world seeking information. 16 A widely circulated article states that the stocks flagged by the SEC included those of the following corporations: American Airlines, United Airlines, Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines, US Airways airlines, Martin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin Corp., AIG, American Express Corp, American International Group, AMR Corporation, AXA SA, Bank of America Corp, Bank of New York Corp, Bank One Corp, Cigna Group, CNA Financial, Carnival Corp, Chubb Group, John Hancock Financial Services, Hercules Inc., L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc., LTV Corporation, Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., MetLife, Progressive Corp., General Motors, Raytheon, W.R. Grace, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., Lone Star Technologies, American Express, the Citigroup Inc., Royal & Sun Alliance, Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., Vornado Reality Trust, Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter & Co., XL Capital Ltd., and Bear Stearns.
An October 19 article in the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the SEC, after a period of silence, had undertaken the unprecedented action of deputizing hundreds of private officials in its investigation:
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In a two-page statement issued to "all securities-related entities" nationwide, the SEC asked companies to designate senior personnel who appreciate "the sensitive nature" of the case and can be relied upon to "exercise appropriate discretion" as "point" people linking government investigators and the industry. 17
Michael Ruppert, a former LAPD officer, explains the consequences of this action:
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