There are exchange members that are designated mkt makers in futures. On Globex these so called mkt makers have special rights as always to BUY the BID and SELL the ASK. I for one have said all along that the move to electronic trading is great in many ways such as speed and cost savings for the exchanges but NOT for good price discovery in wild west mkts and during a panic. The computer has not changed this truism: "The science of trading ponders the past, the art of trading ponders the future" No computer will ever replace the mushy grey matter between your ears. The whiz kids of wall street have a bad habit of blowing themselves up at least once a decade. http://athenaalliance.org/weblog/archives/2008/10/man_or_machine.html
BS, there is absolutely no need for human interference. The claims made justifying specialists are absurd. NASDAQ is fully electronic and so are the vast majority (possibly all non-US?) exchanges around the world, complete chaos? I don't think so. I think the NYSE owners know this, that's why they're slowly closing the floor (2 rooms left I think). Hopefully the NYSE will evolve from stone-age, drop the specialist manipulation and go fully electronic eventually. The mechanical system is just as intelligent as the user who created it since I doubt many use highly advanced AI in their systems. There are plenty of discretionary traders blowing up all the time, maybe even more. The "mushy gray matter" makes mistakes often and mistakes cost a lot, just take a look at the decimal typos on any chart :eek: