Recent Stock Plunge: Cyber Attack? Bad Computer Programming?

WASHINGTON (May 9, 2010) — Federal regulators have got to address the "casino environment" on Wall Street where computerized high-frequency trading can trigger market-shaking turmoil, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd said Sunday.

Dodd, D-Conn., pointed to the new phenomena of computers buying and selling stock in nanoseconds as a possible cause of last Thursday's meltdown. The market fell nearly 1,000 points within minutes before rebounding.