Is the US stock market rigged?

[Bob Gillanders]

A new book from Michael Lewis exposes how high frequency traders are able to gain an advantage in the market.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK0aoQ5yVmA

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Is the US stock market rigged?

Apart from the predictable attempts by practitioners of high frequency trading (HFT) to obfuscate the issues, the case made by Lewis is highly compelling. He centres his factual account on a hero, a Japanese-Canadian graduate of Waterloo working for the Royal Bank of Canada in New York who emerges as the only man who understands how the HFT swindle works but doesn't use his knowledge to profit from it. Instead, he and his associates have set up a new exchange IEX dedicated to restoring fairness to the market.
As with all of Lewis's works (Moneyball, The Big Short, etc.) he has made an extremely complex issue intelligible to the general reader while remaining true to the facts. Highly recommended.
Warning: for anyone investing in the market, reading this book may cause a significant increase in blood pressure.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Is the US stock market rigged?

I never concern myself with HFT. The only thing I consider is if there is enough room for me to make something.

A bigger problem with the US market now is if you buy a $10. security you pay around $11. Canadian. If our dollar moves back to par with the U.S., the value of the security has to rise from $10 US to $11. US for you to be roughly even. It's maybe something a day trader doesn't have to worry about but something an investor has to consider.

[Bob Gillanders]

Re: Is the US stock market rigged?

He centres his factual account on a hero, a Japanese-Canadian graduate of Waterloo working for the Royal Bank of Canada in New York who emerges as the only man who understands how the HFT swindle works but doesn't use his knowledge to profit from it. Instead, he and his associates have set up a new exchange IEX dedicated to restoring fairness to the market.

I found this clip where Brad Katsuyama (our hero) and author Michael Lewis are under attack from establishment brokers for calling out this unethical practice of front running trades by high frequency traders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcpmHyPD_PY

It is astonishing that anyone would have the balls to try and defend the practice.

[Rene Preotu]

Re: Is the US stock market rigged?

I found this clip where Brad Katsuyama (our hero) and author Michael Lewis are under attack from establishment brokers for calling out this unethical practice of front running trades by high frequency traders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcpmHyPD_PY

It is astonishing that anyone would have the balls to try and defend the practice.

That guy is an idiot. His own company came back to correct his statements.

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/...xchanges-work/

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Is the US stock market rigged?

I have found Lewis to be highly reliable in the overall thrust of his analysis and this instance is no exception. I would note that the attorneys general of both the US and NY are finally taking an interest. The answer to Bob's question is that of course the market is rigged and always has been but the degree of screwing over the investor has varied from time to time.
One of the most telling observations in the book is that in all the mayhem caused by criminal fraud in the markets leading up to the Great Recession, the only guy to go to jail was a programmer for Goldman Sachs---at the insistence of Goldman. No CEOS, no traders, not even hedge fund managers.
The problem is that at today's interest there is not much alternative to placing at least some funds in the market but caveat emptor.

[Rene Preotu]

Re: Is the US stock market rigged?

More readings about this subject

http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...rt-of-comments

[Ed Seedhouse]

Re: Is the US stock market rigged?

If you have to ask the question you are one of the suckers. :)

[Bob Gillanders]

Re: Is the US stock market rigged?

If you have to ask the question you are one of the suckers. :)

Oh Eddie, I can assure you it was a rhetorical question! :)