Oracle's share price hit by rumors, trade error

On Thursday, amid rumors that Oracle Corp.'s (orcl) chief financial officer had quit, the company's stock appeared to have dropped to $22.25 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, a plunge of 29 percent from Wednesday at 4 p.m., representing a loss of $50 billion in shareholder value. But the rumor was false. And the trade at $22.25 was an error. The incident illustrates a growing problem on Wall Street. With nerves frayed from the intense volatility of the stock market, and systems and traders trying to handle record trading volumes, errors are occurring with what some believe is troubling frequency. Full story. -- Wall Street Journal