UK bond auction disrupted as Bloomberg terminals freeze
Britain's Debt Management Office (DMO), which is charged with raising money for the Government, was forced to extend the length of an auction after screens froze across the City of London on Wednesday morning.
Bloomberg admitted to a 'a global terminal issue', prompting frustrated traders to complain of 'a fate worse than death' on social media.
The DMO was seeking to sell £4.25bn worth of bonds due for redemption in 2031 at a rate of 4pc to help Rachel Reeves finance her spending.
The auction was meant to run from 9am to 10am but was extended to 11.30am amid the terminal turmoil.
Professional investors around the world rely on Bloomberg terminals for real-time market data, crunching numbers and executing trades.
The product has helped turn US billionaire and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg into the 18th richest person in the world, according to Forbes.
One trader complained on social media: 'Bloomberg not working, so sales people are actually trying to talk to me. Please IT gods, save us.'
Some functions, such as instant messaging on the terminal, remained in operation, but users reported extreme delays in accessing market data.
A single terminal subscription typically costs around £21,000 a year, nearly the same as an entry-level employee in many industries.
Bloomberg's help-desk said: 'We're currently experiencing a global terminal issue, and our engineering team is actively working to identify and resolve the problem.
'We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience, and we truly appreciate your patience and understanding in the meantime.'.
The Bloomberg terminal outage prompted speculation that the company may have become the latest to fall victim to hackers.
Pierre Andurand, a French businessman and hedge fund manager, wrote on X: 'Bloomberg has been down for over 20 minutes ... cyber attack?'
Several British retailers have been targeted by hackers in recent weeks, including Co-op, Marks & Spencer and Harrods. M&S warned on Wednesday that it faced a £300m hit to profits as a result of the cyber attack and said disruption to its online services could last months.
A Bloomberg spokesman said: 'Our systems are returning to normal operations and terminal functionality has been restored following a service disruption earlier today.'
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