Smells like BS. FBI and SEC only now involved because the public is getting wise to the scam, and they'll look complicit if they don't act. Where were all these detectives 5 years ago when HFTing took off?? FIFO should be enshrined in securities exchange law. Period. Solves a lot of problems. Then start charging per canceled and modified order. Like one tenth of one cent. Done.
FBI should investigate (yeah-deep cavity search) SEC,not HFT. cause SEC is the cause and HFT is a simply consequence\result of their 'regulations'
its black and white ,frontrunning and inside info , they are looking the other way,it's not a level playing field, maybe they should investigate the people who made this legal ,follow the money
That is the problem with these agencies: they take ages and ages to arrive, but once they move they move very fast. Now, everyone could do their bit : tipping them off with as much as facts as possible with names, phone numbers and addresses. Let's make their work easier. www.fbi.gov : there is a page called sending a tip.
HFT is not the problem. Abusive HFT is. When people stop assuming all HFT is abusive, then maybe we can get some things done.
How is this news? I guess for the 'masses' who are not even the slightest bit knowledgeable of the current market structure. Everybody knows HFT exists and how they skim off cents, or used to stuff quotes, etc. I mean, there has already been plenty of congressional hearings already on the matter regarding HFT. Seems more like self promotion to me (the book & the exchange). I think more problematic isn't HFT per se, but algorithmic trading. It is the algorithmic trading nature of the market that drives price overshoots. So it exaggerates uptrends and exaggerates downtrend price movements because the algos pile on trends and push the prices further out. I think more investors have lost money because of price overshoots (up or down) than the fact HFT is scalping a few cents per share when performing market making functions.