Title: Decimals May Cause Nasdaq Capacity Problem Summary: The Nasdaq stock market may have serious problems handling the enormous rise in quote traffic when the switch to decimals from fractions is made later this year, the General Accounting Office warned Wednesday. LINK TO FULL STORY

Source: Reuters Online Date: 03/01/2000 15:15

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), March 01, 2000

Answers

One of the problems (among many) in '29 was that the stock ticker tape could not keep up with the volume, sometimes running many hours delayed, just to keep up with the volume.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

-- Helium (HeliumAvid@yahoo.com), March 01, 2000.

Especially if quotes are carried with four decimals. We want to be accurate, don't we? -- Another self-inflicted wound!

-- W (me@home.now), March 01, 2000.

Oops,

1/32nd requires five decimals

1/64th requires SIX.

-- W (me@home.now), March 01, 2000.

They should have switched to cent rounding at the same time.

When bubble.com is selling for stratospheric amounts to the LEFT of the decimal point, is it REALLY necessary to split pennies into 64ths on the RIGHT?

-- Charles Underwood Farley (chuck@u.farley), March 01, 2000.

Oops, meant "split dollars" to 64ths on the right (penny side).

-- Charles Underwood Farley (chuck@u.farley), March 01, 2000.

Thank you everyone for your good input on this subject. Very interesting comments.

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), March 01, 2000.