If you looked at my previous post .. I run education at the ISE. I even invited direct comments and got only one. E mail me directly if you'd you like to comment and I'll pass it on.
$$$$$ Usually Wilburbear gets some good points and ; reguardless , did start the thread. 5 to 1 seems fair, consider this a second on that motion; besides we dont want a market where everyone agrees. Some are violating the old banking rule; if all you pay is peanuts , you get monkeys. Bottom line if some cant work 5 to 1; they should pay more.
On July first, I went from providing tens of thousands of contracts in liquidity to the ISE every day, to a full fledged boycott. I hope ISE becomes the Planet Poker of options trading. If you're thinking "What's Planet Poker? Everyone plays at Party or Stars." ...that's exactly my point.
http://www.iseoptions.com/about/press/pdf/publications/newsletter_spring_2005.pdf See link. I was just on the ISE website reading their newsletter. The right column on page 3 says the ISE is coming out with new software this summer ("precISE Trade"), that will require less bandwidth from ISE users. Don't know if this helps alleviate the capacity constraints the ISE is complaining of, but continual upgrades in technology usually solve these types of problems. Have a good day trading.
I suspect they'll do fine with the support of big retail brokers. I've found that Schwab, for example, sends all SPY orders to ISE, even if it locks the market. I've lost out on a couple fills because of this.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176358&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=777106&highlight= Reviewed a thread from this summer stating ISE wished to impose punitive cancel fees on traders. The ISE cited capacity constraints for this fee increase. Less than 4 months later, ISE announced that they would begin displaying dynamically changing market quotes for at least 3 levels in depth outside of the best bid and offer. (See link above). These are nightmarish data transmission rates compared to individuals placing orders and then canceling quickly. Was the ISE being truthful in citing capacity constraints for this fee increase on traders?
If you want to make you living as a trader on IB or any other retail platform you cannot trade US (SEC regulated) equity options. If you get a fill you have paid the gatekeeper to get it. With all their rules;open orders on one side only, cancel fees, no one but designated market makers are to act as market makers, the pattern day trader rule, you do not have a chance unless you have paid the fees and become a member or seat holder or whatever. The exchanges are using there influence to create pseudo monopoly. It is very unfair and is a classic example of American crony capitalism. For most people on ET who want to trade options futures on options are the way to go. The KOSPI is the best but maybe too exotic for some people. The S&P mini futures options volume is picking up nicely and could be a good place to trade. In these futures markets the playing field is much closer to level for the retail trader. Some people on here are really squareheaded about futures. I can just hear someone saying to themselves "but I don't trade futures because I'm "smart" enough to know there too risky". instead they think "I'll just keep selling covered calls, it's a low risk strategy". Well there are enough hedge funds and retail investors keen to sell options that the price of them has become extremely low. Any rational analysis of looking a chart versus what an option is worth will tell you this. Only complicated mathematical formulae could squareheadedly justify current options prices. The blind leading the blind. There is no more risk in future than in stocks. If you want to use crazy leverage in anything it will lead to disaster, don't blame futures on that.