It is almost impossible to deliberately provoke a global economic crisis. Even the richest man in the world will never have enough funds to seriously affect the global economy. However, miracles sometimes happen when, by an incredible coincidence, a single person becomes the cause of a global economic catastrophe.
Steve Perkins - $ 520 million party
Steve Perkins had a tumultuous weekend. The company where he worked as an oil broker - PVMOilFutures, arranged corporate holidays for its employees. Over the course of a game of golf, oil traders discussed plans for future deals and raised corporate spirit. Of course, it was not without alcohol. For 34-year-old Steve Perkins, alcoholic drinks in the company of colleagues had a strange effect. Back home very drunk, Perkins had no intention of stopping. He continued to drink all Monday, and in the evening, sitting comfortably at his home computer, he made a series of transactions to buy oil futures contracts.
The amount of transactions made by him amounted to $ 520 million. Moreover, Perkins carried out all these manipulations without the permission of his superiors. It turns out that he, imbued with the corporate spirit at the weekend, decided to take the initiative. He purchased 7.125 million barrels of oil. At that time, alcohol trader Perkins bought 69% of the total trading volume of Brent crude.
This deal resulted in a sudden rise in the oil price from $ 71 to $ 73.5. Economists have sounded the alarm. Panic began in the markets. Oil trading volumes reached a record 16,000,000 barrels, which is 32 times higher than the average daily level of completed transactions.
The balance in the market was restored only a few hours later, when Steve Perkins' employer discovered what had happened and was forced to close the deal with catastrophic losses for the company. The closure of this huge position pushed oil prices down to $ 69 a barrel.
Perkins was fired from the company and banned from working in the specialty for 5 years, and also fined £ 72,000.
