The counter arguments are too inane to respond to. So I won't. And dude, supercomputer was hyperbole, I'm well aware that off the shelf servers are more than enough to pillage and steal 24/7. The edge is 99% location. You know this perfectly well.
Here's another post against HFT. http://seekingalpha.com/article/207017-one-strong-case-for-firmly-regulating-high-frequency-trading
Actually let HFT show us how illiquid the market will be without them, i dont see anything different 15 years ago and now on spread.
For those of you that are against HFT - what do they do that is currently illegal ? Or perhaps so unfair that we need legislation to regulate it ?
Really? Nothing different??? Fractions vs Pennies? Spreads of 12.5 cents vs spreads of a penny? Market Makers sitting on the offer and giving out 100 shares via SOES every 17 seconds and ignoring all SelectNet orders...the ECNs trading thru the MMs by DOLLARS. You are right, its pretty much the same.
lol. and you call me a moron when you know full well the scam they are running. since you remember the good old days, I'll chalk it up to Alzheimer's.
This whole belief that to participate in HFT you need to (1) have tens of thousands of dollars per month to get co-located, and (2) a supercomputer is so far off it actually IS funny. (1) I know of a firm that offers co-location (or at least sits at a facility near the NYSE/NASDAQ with a direct data pipe to the exchange) for $200 per month. (2) As mentioned by other (smarter) members, you don't need a supercomputer to do this. In fact, a $300 Playstation 3 (I'm not kidding) has MORE than enough power to HFT quite a few stocks. So, $200/month for co-loation, $300 one-time cost for a PS3, and monthly data fees (which many already pay at their home anyway). All that is required to successfully run a HFT strategy is intelligence, hard work, and skill. Whiners need not apply.
so why dont you educate all of us, as you seem to suggest we are all in the dark except you. I dont see any purpose whatsoever in HFT, the liquidity argument is UTTER BS, and I dont say that since May 6. What other useful purpose does HFT and dark pools, for that matter, serve except a few privileged parties? I am very much a proponent of free markets, less government intervention. BUT I believe the most important ingredients of any free market is TRANSPARENCY and TRUSTWORTHY AND FAIR price discovery. Right now not only the retail guys get raped, but also lots of long-term investors, smaller trading shops, or anyone without the most sophisticated and expensive devices to compete. Dont get me wrong I dont engage in short term day trades (its pretty apparent if you ever read any of my posts) but I think you are delusional claiming that long-term investors are not negatively affected by HFT. So, lets hear your arguments after you proclaimed everyone but yourself an idiot.
fully agree, I am sick of anarchistic individuals in favor of zero government intervention. Those who have an issue with law and order should maybe consider moving to the Alaskan peninsula to pursue hunting and fishing. The remaining 99.5% of the world's population prefers to give up certain rights to privacy in favor of fair and safe markets which punish abusers and those who dont want to play by the rules. In my opinion fines imposed by the SEC should be multiplied by at least a factor of 100 anything else is a joke. If those guys were not watching porn all day then they would not be pursuing cases on which they are 1.5-2 years behind. The problem with today's markets is definitely not that they are too patrolled but that there is too little regulation.