Stock Market Plunges with EU Lending Fears and Greece Bankruptcy as Riots & Protests Continue … Then Rebound

WAKE UP AMERICA … PAY ATTENTION TO GREECE, this is what happens when you try to spend your way out of difficult economy times.

WOW, the New York Stock Exchange fell over 900, correction 1000 points amid fears of EU lending worries. It has since rebounded to 700, 600 and now at about -400.

The Dow plunged Thursday amid buzz in the market that European banks have halted lending.

One trader, on the condition of anonymity, said he heard fixed income desks in Europe shut down early because there was no liquidity — basically European banks are halting lending right now.

“This is similar to what took place pre-Lehman Brothers,” the trader said.

This is in relation to the Greece debt crisis where Greece is on the verge of bankruptcy as violence has broken out in the protests.

Investors also remained deeply worried Thursday about the unfolding drama of Europe’s efforts to prop up Greece’s finances. Despite boisterous street protests, Greece’s parliament passed a bill with austerity measures that will give the country access to an assistance package jointly offered by the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Other EU members will take votes in their respective parliaments soon to approve spending on the package, with a first test expected in Germany on Friday.

New protests as Greece approves austerity bill

Greek police fired tear gas to repel stone-throwing protesters after lawmakers approved drastic austerity cuts Thursday needed to secure international rescue loans worth euro110 billion ($140 billion).

The clashes followed violent street protests Wednesday that left three people dead after a bank was firebombed. In New York, Dow Jones industrials plunged almost 1,000 points as investors succumbed to fears that Greece’s debt problems would halt the global economic recovery.

UPDATE I: Are you serious, Human Error Might Have Triggered Sell Off … a trader entered a “b” for billion instead of an “m” for million.

In one of the most dizzying half-hours in stock market history, the Dow plunged nearly 1,000 points before paring those losses—all apparently due to a trader error.

According to multiple sources, a trader entered a “b” for billion instead of an “m” for million in a trade possibly involving Procter & Gamble [PG  60.75    -1.41  (-2.27%)    ], a component in the Dow. (CNBC’s Jim Cramer noted suspicious price movement in P&G stock on air during the height of the market selloff.

However, this does not change the fact that Greece is in financial turmoil and many of European socialist countries in a similar plight.

Oh great, will Democrats look to use a stupid stock purchase stock error as a way to get more government control over the Stock Market? How about we just teach people the difference between a “B” and an “M”?

Make no mistake about it America … take a good look at Greece. The Obama Administration is trying to make the United States more like socialist Europe than Capitalist America. Cradle to grave social welfare and being taken care of by the Nanny state. Is that what you want? Look what it got Greece and numerous other European countries who find them selves teetering on collapse.

UPDATE II: Plunge in US equities remains a mystery

However, despite the persistence of this story, officials were struggling to idenfity a specific cause. “We still don’t know what was the initiating signal for the trading activity we saw on Thursday,” said Jeff Wecker, chief executive officer at Lime Brokerage. “The verdict is still out.”

White House doesn’t rule out sabotage in Thursday’s wild Wall Street plunge