William had to make the instant decision that his personal trust should pick up the shares, and he issued an immediate buy order for them.

It rose however against the yen, to 104.15 from 103.45, due largely to a major buy order, London traders said.

The investor then withdrew the buy order before it was executed.

At 9:58, he typed in a buy order on his computer.

If you had placed a simple buy order, you probably would have gotten the shares at $43.75.

Only then did the imbalance start to ease, as buy orders came in.

A surge in buy orders at the end of the session, probably computer related, lifted the Dow less than 3 points.

Only 250,000 shares were offered, in contrast to 2.5 million buy orders.

One can either personally take part in the auction, via telephone, or by means of a written buy order.

Could you dial the toll-free number of your 401(k) with a buy order?