Monday, October 11, 2010

The Speed Traders

In case you missed "60 Minutes" last night, check out The Speed Traders. Good coverage of high frequency trading, the liquidity providers we all rely on for fills and then curse when they slam the tapes up or down in milliseconds!

4 comments:

  1. I saw that. I liked the part where the trader says that all this intraday trading is necessary as it provides liquidity for the slow pokes who trade for the long term. The story was not as negative as I feared it would be.

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  2. For the typical boob tube watcher this sort of stuff would pass off as an informative news worthy item. For that audience this may deliver some half truths worthy of perusal.

    For those with a keyboard and access to Google search plus the curiosity to read this may be no more than a pseudo serious time filler. At best marginally informative, at worst - incomplete and poorly done.

    Am I cynical? Perhaps.

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  3. I liked it for the simple fact that a mainstream news story was actually, sort of, about our profession. And the "liquidity providing" comment was great too. I laughed when I saw that part because that's what I tell people when they ask how my job benefits society. LOL

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  4. No doubt, if you wanna start an animated (often contentious - even mean spirited sometimes) conversation just tell them you are a short term derivatives trader. And watch the fireworks go off :)

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