Are you really that thick? Of course it is stealing. Taking something and making it your own even though it is the property of someone else who did not give you permission to take it is theft. Which part is hard to understand here? It's almost the dictionary definition. Look it up and smarten up.
stealing is taking possession of a product from someone else.. he doesn't own the code,,what don't you understand? copying someones style isn't stealing either.. get it through your head, all software is copying they probably stole algorithm from other manual traders etc..look up open source code.
you don't own ideas okay , what don't yoru understand ,you have companies who think they own human DNA or plant Genes..own the mathematical formual 1+1=2
the firms still has the code right or software. so the firm didn't lose anything, nothing was 'stolen' you know what 'theft ' or fraud is ?
intellectual property, just like Americans, the global 'agreement' is to protect profits of software companies okay, the state protecting the business. it's about money and control. not a crime. like the Paris Agreement, Trump withdraw cause it would be CRIME and US would be sued for polluting the air. okay. ..anything can be made a crime, even freedom of expression. it's the state that make IP a 'crime' ...the state or US gov't works for business .or fascism Trump and these laws is proof of rise of fascism.. driving your car and using natural gas can be 'crime' if Paris Agreeent. or international 'agreements'.
your sounding like SATAN! Satan: the great liar, deceiver, and accuser, and sells temptation to humans. like US accused Saddam Hussein in 2003 of having chemical weapons and invades. your accusing people of theft okay? Stalin accused millions of anti-communism and had them killed for 'treason'. with no evidence whatsoever.
Here the dictionary definition for you: [Intellectual Right/Property] A right that is had by a person or by a company to have exclusive rights to use its own plans, ideas, or other intangible assets without the worry of competition, at least for a specific period of time. These rights can include copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. ------ Trading algorithms or for that matter any computer code clearly falls under this definition. Maybe the laws and regulations are different in the country you are coming from but in the Western world computer code created within corporations is protected and belongs to the company where the code was created unless explicit exceptions in writing are agreed on between the employer and other parties. I have nothing else to say. You can have different opinions but the above are facts and definitions.
It just isn't: it refers to a whole more than that, as any first-year law student (in any country!) will tell you. Your beliefs are just delusional, and wrong.