A $225 Million Stock Trade Typo
Have you ever accidentally transposed a number completely? For example, what if you were looking for a house at 1234 Cherry Lane, but somehow in your mind it ended up becoming 3412 Cherry Lane? The realization that you made a mistake and must restart something in order to make it right definitely occurs to a lot of individuals, and it isn't much more than a hassle. However, things become ugly when those numbers are accompanied by dollar signs or, in this case, yen symbols.
A business by the name of Mizuho Securities Company attempted to list a single share of J-Com Co in 2016 for 610,000 yen, or roughly $5000. They instead made an offer of 610,000 shares at 1 yen each. A yen is only worth about one penny. The corporation ultimately lost $225 million as a result of that error. The miscalculation basically eliminated the company's $233 million in profits from the prior year. The transaction was illegal, therefore the stock exchange declined to invalidate it, but a thorough inquiry was planned to avoid repeating the mistake.
- Cost: $225 million
