Mayhem Erupts on Trading Floors After SNB’s Franc Shock
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At 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, trading floors across the City of London erupted.
Outbursts of obscenities and confusion followed the Swiss central bank’s surprise decision to abolish its three-year-old policy of capping the Swiss franc against the euro, according to traders in London’s financial district. The U-turn sent the franc as much as 41 percent up against the euro, the biggest gain on record, a move that one trader estimated may cause billions of dollars of losses for banks and their customers.