ALMOST ARMAGEDDON: MARKETS WERE 500 TRADES FROM A MELTDOWN

From the New York Post (like you couldn't tell from the all caps headline):

By MICHAEL GRAY

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Last updated: 6:20 am
September 21, 2008
Posted: 4:16 am
September 21, 2008

The market was 500 trades away from Armageddon on Thursday, traders inside two large custodial banks tell The Post.

Had the Treasury and Fed not quickly stepped into the fray that morning with a quick $105 billion injection of liquidity, the Dow could have collapsed to the 8,300-level - a 22 percent decline! - while the clang of the opening bell was still echoing around the cavernous exchange floor.

According to traders, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, money market funds were inundated with $500 billion in sell orders prior to the opening. The total money-market capitalization was roughly $4 trillion that morning...MORE