Trader who pressed the wrong key to be fired

News Story by Reuters

JULY 01, 2005 (REUTERS) - A Taiwan stock trader mistakenly bought $251 million worth of shares with a misstroke of her computer keyboard, meaning her company is looking at a paper loss of more than $12 million and she is looking for a new job.

The trader with Fubon Securities miskeyed in a small order from Merrill Lynch & Co. on Monday, creating confusion when many small firms inexplicably surged past the 7% trading limit.

``Something like this is difficult to explain to superiors,`` a Fubon executive said Tuesday.

Fubon said that the trader was unfamiliar with new computer systems and will be fired. The firm will also examine its procedures of placing orders, the company said.

``There is a paper loss of more than $400 million [in Taiwan dollars],`` the executive said.

``However, with a good outlook for stocks in the second half, there are no plans to sell the shares in the near term.``