3/21/2014

High-Speed Traders Face Scrutiny In the U.S

Regulators are taking aim at the relationship between high-frequency trading firms and major exchanges, examining whether the preferential treatment market operators offer the firms puts other investors at a disadvantage....
 

The probe is focused on complicated, often opaque incentive programs that give high-volume trading firms financial benefits such as discounts on fees the exchanges charge to execute trades, the people said.
 

Separately, Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement officials are investigating whether stock exchanges provide advantages to certain clients, including high-frequency traders, by designing software programs that can give preferential treatment to their orders, and whether such details have been fully disclosed, people familiar with that inquiry said.
 

The probes come amid heightened concerns among institutional investors, lawmakers and regulators that superfast traders have access to advantages on stock and futures exchanges not typically available to regular investors.
 

Regulators are concerned that less-savvy or less-influential investors aren’t aware of the benefits and advantages that exchanges are providing to certain clients, making it difficult for them to compete fairly, according to people familiar with the investigations.
High-speed firms use sophisticated computer systems to move rapidly in and out of markets in fractions of seconds.
 

So far, market watchdogs have done little to curb such trading, which has boomed and now makes up about half of all stock-market volume....

9 comments:

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Another pointless exercise by the incompetent SEC.

Have they been asleep at the wheel? Of course.

HFT works on:

1. Speed of received data/ info
2. Speed of executing the trade(s)

...which is PRECISELY what evolves when you BEGIN using electronic trading platforms which use:

1. Super hardware
2. Super software
3. Ultra high speed data transfer.

All this shit started DECADES ago. I have friends - most have no formal IT qualifications, but they are "serious hobbyists" -- who were writing code and hooking up hardware to do this stuff way back in the 1990's right here in Singapore. As expected, the public was unaware, as were many formally trained in IT.

Now we have cheaper data transfer, better hardware to run mind-boggling number-crunching virtual machines, running algorithms which can sort through Big Data in nanoseconds.

Like it or not, "anti authority", tech savvy people will always be light years ahead of any regulation.

The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth.

Anonymous said...

The stock market OR stock exchange no more serves the original objective of raising capital for investment purposes. The rogues, crooks and scoundrels in America and the WEST have turned stock exchanges into super size gambling dens or casinos. These AMERICAN and Western gambling malaise , these western disease or cancer have since spread far and wide around the world. The American and Western crooks and scoundrels in collusion with local crooks and scoundrels have been cheating and swindling every country around the world. These so called Stock Markets or casinos should be closed down permanently and their operators the rogues, crooks and scoundrels should be arrested and shot without mercy.

Southernglory1

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

P.S. The biggest threat to all the capital, forex, commodity and even consumer markets IS NOT HFT, or The Fed or "lack of oversight" or "greedy bankers", but it is, without question the record high level of debt the world is collectively carrying -- now over 300% (and growing) of total world GDP. Most of the debt is government debt.

Without debt, most governments in the world would not be able to function.

Singapore government is one of the world's champions in public debt. Go ahead, look it up, and draw your own conclusions.

Anonymous said...

What to do? Even ordinary people are living on debts. How to avoid? At the very most go bankrupt or just wait for everything to crash.

By then, it will be proven that those that live on debts are the smart ones. Live it up first, like there is no tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

The dragnet is closing in and the criminals that allowed computer access into stock markets to cheat innocent investors must be arrested and put on trial.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@848:

>> Even ordinary people are living on debts. How to avoid?

Simple: Live within your means. i.e. you can only consume to the level at which you can produce.

Anonymous said...

Matilah dumb or what?

Anon848 clearly meant to survive in Sin, ordinary folks cannot avoid going into debts.

'Live within your means', what are the means of the old, the sick and the weak?

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@139:

>> in Sin, ordinary folks cannot avoid going into debts.

Are you sure? Ask the frugal but secure people in their 80's and 90's -- people who worked hard for little money but still managed to raise their families and educate their children. They also formed life long bonds with friends, and helped each other out when needs arose. In those day NO social security, no public welfare...don't forget that.

It seems young folks have forgotten how "tough" previous generations were. They did what they had to do, and did well so that you and I can get fat and talk shit on the internet.

>> what are the means of the old, the sick and the weak?

I don't know many people who are sick and weak who are "on their own." Someone is looking after them -- their family, their friends, their religious or secular institution.

As for "old": No one turns "old" overnight. It take many, many decades to become old, and you have to be able to survive -- which means you have a WHOLE LIFETIME to prepare.

In Singapore, people like to "action borak". No money? The borrow money. Borrow money in order to IMPRESS other people letting them know -- without doubt -- how fucking "successful" you are.

I know people who'll borrow $10k to buy a Rolex to "impress" other people.

Go ahead, try and make the case for the need to be in debt. Go ahead and borrow -- I won't agree with you, but it is your fucking life.

You have the right to make your one-and-only life as sad, uncomfortable and difficult as you like :-))

Anonymous said...

The dumb getting dumber.
Those 80, 90 year olds You talked about.
Those in the 60s year old and more were able to produce 3 or more children, own 3, 4, 5 Room and bigger properties, own cars. You know all the Reasons how they managed. AND THAT IT WAS ALL DUE TO LOW STANDARD (COSTS) OF LIVING.

Regarding 'howlian', all along Chinese are 'howlian', they were as howlian as today if not more.

Today, before a Sinkie starts working, he/she is already in debt having to loan just to study.

If anyone in the family is chronically ill, the Rest of the Family will likely suffer if they are not in high paying jobs. Medicares before the 80s were much cheaper and healthcare workers were far more caring.

You cannot be unaware of the differences of livelihoods of the 80s and before and living post 80.