"Buy orders" on the way down are only one side of liquidity....

"Buy orders" on the way down are only one side of liquidity. Without margin trading, puts and calls, CFDs, index and derivative trading there was less forced selling. Taking share prices back to levels last seen 5 years ago has destroyed more value than ever. It is entirely possible that under "buy and hold at full value" at least those companies in good shape would not have had to share the fallout from those companies crippled by the credit crisis. And every reason to suspect that these liquidity providing instruments caused it.