Former Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del., and Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, are urging Congress to create an independent commission to investigate the "Flash Crash," which caused the market to lose nearly $1 trillion in value five years ago.
In their letter to Senate and House leaders, Kaufman and Kelleher write that on May 6, 2010, in "just 36 dizzying minutes, the U.S. stock market lost almost $1 trillion of value and just as quickly regained it."
This so-called flash crash "starkly exposed how fragile and vulnerable our markets are to lightning-fast, unregulated, dark trading, often referred to as 'high frequency trading,'" Kelleher wrote.
While many investigations over the years have been performed, "none were very convincing and many questions remained," Kelleher said.
The two note the recent arrest of a lone day trader in London who is being charged with being "a cause" of the flash crash "proves those concerns were valid and highlights the urgent need for a more thorough and credible investigation."
