| Sumario: | As a result of a computer crash, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was closed for nearly eight hours on April 5, 2000. On that day, the last day of the tax year, 12 million private investors were unable to sell shares to minimize their tax bill, and although the market extended trading hours, many brokers refused to take orders because share prices were so volatile. Others accepted orders but did not guarantee prices or stated that trades would be executed the next day. This failure at the exchange will weaken the LSE's hand in its talks with other European exchanges, particularly with the Deutsche Börse in Frankfurt, with which it is trying to merge. The timing of the computer crash is particularly awkward for LSE because of the growing competition among Europe's exchanges. In 1998, the LSE and Deutsche Börse established an alliance to set up a common European trading platform, and they later extended the alliance to six other members. However, they have failed to deliver on the common platform so far, and other exchanges are now taking the lead.
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