Associated Press reported Friday that investment companies dealt with more activity than usual on their websites. This surge, of course, was caused by brewing crisis in the stock market. The article noted that Scottrade, Inc. experienced the most online traffic, although company spokeswoman Kelly Doria said that Scottrade's website did not encounter any difficulties. Other investment sites who received more-than-usual online activity held up relatively well during the increased traffic. There were times during the day when the websites were not operating in 100% capacity, but the shortcomings were not too overwhelming. Associated Press reported that E-trade's website handled the increased online activity better than anyone. The article also reported that the web traffic did not spill onto banking websites, which is fortunate news because it meant that not a lot of folks were pulling their savings off of banks.
The increase in web traffic is probably going to calm down pretty soon, given the bailout plan that Congress is currently working on. Meanwhile, it is fortunate that internet technology was able to effectively hold up amidst a crisis. The bailout plan probably deserves a brunt of the credit for giving investors a psychological assurance (as shown by significant gains in the Dow Jones and other stocks) to continue to have faith in the market , but I would not count out the contribution given by the accessibility of the web to that boost in investor confidence.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080919/ap_on_hi_te/tec_meltdown_online_activity;_ylt=Ao58kztbHMjkoSfpPRzrYPQjtBAF
PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goodresolution/252377405/
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