The value of zero

"Your allocation is $21m," said the broker at Citigroup. (My usual man with the unusual name of Paris was away.) I had heard that the issue was not going well but even so, to receive some vast multiple of what I had asked for, was rather dumping me in it. When I queried the amount, he said he'd check and call me back. "You got $21,000." This was going from the sublime to the ridiculous and was a fraction of what I wanted. Nevertheless, small fractions are better than vast multiples in a falling market and averaging down is the theme of the day.