Comments on: High-frequency trading: useless and manipulative?

By: tanzkuchen

tanzkuchen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:51:29 +0000

HFT is a technologically sophisticated method for sucking profit from trades that would have taken place anyways. As such, it serves no valuable market function, instead only serving those who stand to profit from this momentary insertion into the stream of commerce. To argue that it is beneficial due to its reduction of spreads is fallacious. Improved transparency would also serve to accomplish this reduction. Legislation to mandate a minimum holding time on all purchases would do away with this practice that serves no meaningful market function.

By: John McLeod

John McLeod — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:10:13 +0000

I would tentatively characterize HFT as a possibly legal but presently productive enterprise to apply massive technology, talent and persistence to the end of obtaining a decisive advantage in a zero-sum game.We here in the Maritimes have a shorter name for that — overfishing

By: Youri Carma

Youri Carma — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:19:42 +0000

A more accurate definition of high-frequency trading would be: “Steeling”, “Frontrunning”, “Bogus Volume”