Is this where you think things are headed? A bit of fictitious humor probably doesn't hurt
Report: Daytraders Flee Deadly Tech Decline
March 3, 1999
Made up at 6:32 a.m. EST
KUALA LUMPUR, Malasia -- On-line day traders in western Malasia sacrificed pigs and prayed at a Chinese temple as others logged off their computers after an epidemic decline in the technology sector, a newspaper reported today.
The decline, attributable to major brokerage houses intentionally increasing the volatility of the tech sector in order to acquire core holdings at "two oxs for the price of one" prices, has blown out 32 day traders in the last two weeks.
In order to avoid being gored, more than 120 families packed their computers in trucks and cars, and abandoned their pig farms and left Sungai Nipah, about 80 miles south of the Malasian capital, Kuala Lumpur. The scare was triggered in the prosperous pig-rearing village after two people died last month, unable to meet margin calls.
Analysts say the dilemma, which was unfortunate, is generally not experienced by investors who buy through the major brokerage houses or who follow their stock-picking recommendations.
Margin calls have been around since 1929, but the increased frequency, caused by selling naked puts, may exacerbate the condition.
On Tuesday, brokerage house compliance officers seized 250 piglets in the Sungai Nipah when several day traders were unable to meet their margin calls. Thousands of pigs have been released and left wandering by their owners in order to prevent the brokerage houses from corralling the squealing four-legged assets of these individuals and prematurely turning them into pork chops.
The newspaper said three pigs had been slaughtered at Sungai Nipah's Chinese temple by frustrated day traders who believed that the sacrifice would ward off further declines in the technology sector.
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