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It seems I am the only one out here that thinks computer based trading should be illegal.

by zouhair 10y ago

pgwhalen 10y ago
I'm curious what you mean by that. Should we go back to all gathering in the same room and shouting at each other?
- zouhair 10y ago
  Actually it would be a good thing, we don't need a transaction every half a millisecond.
andylei 10y ago
do you think computer based retail sales should be illegal too.
- zouhair 10y ago
  What I meant is that computers that do trades all by themselves should not be legal. Even frigging signing for a gmail account forces you to pass a captcha.
  - andylei 10y ago
    do you think that computers that sell shoes all by themselves should not be legal?
dsjoerg 10y ago
could you explain why you think it should be illegal? what exactly do you mean by computer based? can i use a computer to help me decide what to trade? if the computer tells me what to trade and i press a button to agree with it and do the trade is that OK? sincerely trying to understand your perspective and how one might possibly implement it.
- zouhair 10y ago
  What I mean is that now computers algorithms are making the trades, it is so fucked up now that people pay hundreds of millions of dollars to be physically near the stock exchange so that they have less lag. I should have been more clear, computer based autonomous or semi-autonomous algorithms should not be allowed to trade.
hourislate 10y ago
HFT systems scalp. They make their millions .001 at a time on front running and volume. A way to discourage this is by adding a very small fee to each trade. This eats/takes away their profits. The problem is their are too many folks making money that are connected to the right people in Government.There will always be talk about doing something about it but nothing will ever happen. The only positive outcome from all this is that it created an arms race in the industry when it comes to the technologies used to facilitate HFT or fight it. Now whether that technology trickles down to the rest of us through new and interesting things remains to be seen.
- vecter 10y ago
  This comment is ignorant and wrong on every single point. As another person commented elsewhere, front running is a specific term with a clear definition and is illegal. HFT firms do not do front running.
  - hourislate 10y ago
    Says who? Insider trading is illegal, so are you saying it doesn't happen? I think your belief that the system works like it is defined in someones definition ignorant. Just like to add Google HFT Firms Front Running and let me know if that is enough info to convince you.
    - vecter 10y ago
      I did [0]. The first result is an article explaining how HFT can't front run [1]. How about instead of making vague arguments about how HFT does front running, provide a specific example of how HFT actually does front running as you claim. And no, one anecdote is not enough. You have to prove that there is a systemic fault in the way the HFT trades in the market that allow them to operate illegally at scale without any repercussions. To find one HFT firm guilty of front running and then claim that they all do would be tantamount to saying all hedge fund managers cook their books just because Bernie Madoff did. I'm sure you can see the absurdity of that accusation. [0] https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=hft%20front%20running https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&e... [1] http://www.cnbc.com/2014/04/03/high-frequency-traders-cant-front-run-anyonecommentary.html http://www.cnbc.com/2014/04/03/high-frequency-traders-cant-f...

It seems I am the only one out here that thinks computer based trading should be illegal.

by zouhair 10y ago

It seems I am the only one out here that thinks computer based trading should be illegal.

pgwhalen 10y ago

I'm curious what you mean by that. Should we go back to all gathering in the same room and shouting at each other?

zouhair 10y ago
Actually it would be a good thing, we don't need a transaction every half a millisecond.

andylei 10y ago

do you think computer based retail sales should be illegal too.

zouhair 10y ago
What I meant is that computers that do trades all by themselves should not be legal. Even frigging signing for a gmail account forces you to pass a captcha.
- andylei 10y ago
  do you think that computers that sell shoes all by themselves should not be legal?

dsjoerg 10y ago

could you explain why you think it should be illegal? what exactly do you mean by computer based? can i use a computer to help me decide what to trade? if the computer tells me what to trade and i press a button to agree with it and do the trade is that OK? sincerely trying to understand your perspective and how one might possibly implement it.

zouhair 10y ago
What I mean is that now computers algorithms are making the trades, it is so fucked up now that people pay hundreds of millions of dollars to be physically near the stock exchange so that they have less lag. I should have been more clear, computer based autonomous or semi-autonomous algorithms should not be allowed to trade.

hourislate 10y ago

HFT systems scalp. They make their millions .001 at a time on front running and volume. A way to discourage this is by adding a very small fee to each trade. This eats/takes away their profits. The problem is their are too many folks making money that are connected to the right people in Government.There will always be talk about doing something about it but nothing will ever happen. The only positive outcome from all this is that it created an arms race in the industry when it comes to the technologies used to facilitate HFT or fight it. Now whether that technology trickles down to the rest of us through new and interesting things remains to be seen.

vecter 10y ago
This comment is ignorant and wrong on every single point. As another person commented elsewhere, front running is a specific term with a clear definition and is illegal. HFT firms do not do front running.
- hourislate 10y ago
  Says who? Insider trading is illegal, so are you saying it doesn't happen? I think your belief that the system works like it is defined in someones definition ignorant. Just like to add Google HFT Firms Front Running and let me know if that is enough info to convince you.
  - vecter 10y ago
    I did [0]. The first result is an article explaining how HFT can't front run [1]. How about instead of making vague arguments about how HFT does front running, provide a specific example of how HFT actually does front running as you claim. And no, one anecdote is not enough. You have to prove that there is a systemic fault in the way the HFT trades in the market that allow them to operate illegally at scale without any repercussions. To find one HFT firm guilty of front running and then claim that they all do would be tantamount to saying all hedge fund managers cook their books just because Bernie Madoff did. I'm sure you can see the absurdity of that accusation. [0] https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=hft%20front%20running https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&e... [1] http://www.cnbc.com/2014/04/03/high-frequency-traders-cant-front-run-anyonecommentary.html http://www.cnbc.com/2014/04/03/high-frequency-traders-cant-f...