The author seems to expect the reader to assume that HFT does not create value. There are a few points to back up the belief but he does appear to state it more

The author seems to expect the reader to assume that HFT does not create value. There are a few points to back up the belief but he does appear to state it more as a reminder than an argument. He then goes on to pose what I see to be the point of the piece. A question about whether the short term thinking created by shareholder pressure may be creating the same situation. Maybe IBM will never go out of business even after creating little or no value. But instead it will find methods outside of creating value in order to create wealth. Much like high frequency trading.