The New York Stock Exchange crashed on July 9, and even down in South Florida business professionals, academics and students had an eye on one of the most important exchanges in the world.
Through the four hour shutdown because of an apparent computer glitch, American investors flinched but did not panic.
Exchange officials blamed an unspecified technical problem but said it was “not the result of a cyber breach.”
Traders worked around the NYSE during the outage, sending trades through other exchanges, and customers’ orders were filled.
According to Shahid Hamid, professor in the College of Business, the New York Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in the country and the world.
He continued saying that because of the advancing technology and the constant updating, glitches in the system are bound to happen. Thankfully however it was not a major issue and it was fixed in a short amount of time.
“When I heard about the New York Stock Exchange at first I was surprised, I thought more people were aware of what had happen,” said Stephanie Reyes, a junior finance major. “When I arrived on campus no one seemed to know. It seems students are not very aware about the economy, or not all aspects of the economy.”
Hamid said his students discussed the crash the following class because finance students like to be aware of what is going on in the stock market.
Reyes believes that more people should become aware of how all aspects of the economy are working. Even though the glitch was minor and barely had any after affects, it was still a mistake that can be learned from.
International Business Sophomore, Ricky Fernandez said that students who are studying business should be aware of the NYSE because it is relevant to the field of study. He said the stock exchange is not just a topic for stock brokers but for anyone interested in the capital market.
Hamid, who has a doctorate in economics, has faith that the small glitch was an obstacle that will continue to improve the computer system in order to avoid future dilemmas; he said that the New York Stock Exchange is not going to go away anytime soon, it is 223 years old and will continue to expand and grow.
The NYSE was not the only victim of a system glitch on Wednesday July 8th. United Airlines flights were grounded due to a technical problem for approximately two hours, and the Wall Street Journal was also down the same day.
Additional reporting from Jim Gallagher of the Tribune News Service