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CNBC Software Flaw Worth $1 Million?

Posted by Zonk on from the that's-quite-a-bug dept.

Strudelkugel writes "BusinessWeek tells the story of one obsessive fan who unraveled a software glitch worth one million dollars. Jim Kraber was a regular CNBC viewer, and when the opportunity arose he took the 'Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge' very seriously. At one point, he was spending 12 hours a day on the contest, using three computers to trade 1,600 different portfolios in a theoretical stock game. His efforts got him into the top 20 finalists, but in the last round of trading he noticed some unusual patterns. 'One trader had a stream of near-perfect picks, consistently placing huge bets on shares that soared in after-hours trading. Kraber suspected the trader and perhaps others were getting help from someone who was changing their picks after the stocks' increases — and he quickly notified CNBC ... Kraber says CNBC rebuffed him at the time, but now it looks like he may have been right.'"

4 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Well what did he expect... by hhcv · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The fact is, no matter how calculated a risk is... some people have more information at hand when doing the "calculations." Therein lies the profit making opportunity for the other trader, on the back of this first guy.

  2. Re:Flaws in contest software by MadCow42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Behind every Marketing person with an idea, there is a programmer that has to implement it. I don't think you can blame the technical issues you quoted on bad marketing... just poor programming.

    Yes, I'm in Marketing... and yes, I also program (semi-professionally). However, I realize that I am not the person best qualified for doing "mission-critical" projects like that (mission-critical to a Marketing program, in this case).

    MadCow.

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    I used to have a sig, but I set it free and it never came back.
  3. Re:Stick to poker -- fewer variables... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If stock trading was simply a matter of building hundreds of pseudo random portfolios but only the best ones counted we'd all be billionaires.

    No, we wouldn't. I guarantee that I could manage hundreds of portfolios and not make money on any of them.

    It's why I stay out of the stock market, except for my managed TIAA CREF account and the few Google shares I bought at the IPO.
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    You are welcome on my lawn.
  4. Fantasy stock markets. by tygerstripes · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Remember playing Monopoly as a kid?

    "Imagine, right... nononono, listen, listen. Just imagine... if all this was real money!!!

    This has the same kind of feel to it.

    And I have to ask, if the guy's prepared to spend 12 hours a day doing this with "Monopoly money", even sacrificing his professional accreditation studies in the belief that he might end up as the best market-player in over 300,000 and win $1m... why the hell isn't he just playing the stock-market??

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    Meta will eat itself