Really? I've got to think this is purely a "protect the locals" move. Electronic equity options trading is super active with very tight spreads. Electronic futures options trading is doubling in volume each year--ES, ER, US, TY, TN, ED are all pretty tight. I've traded both pit options (CBOE, CME, NYBOT, and CBOT) and electronic options and I'd like to never do another pit option trade again.
Thats what I was told by the clearing firm. Options are the last bastion. Agriculturals will soon migrate and be dominated by electronic trading.
lot of stuff that keeps you mentally agile when trading solitarily is important. you need to tailor your environment to optimize it for trading. Whether it be a room with a view, or other forms of mental stimulation. you will get cabin fever afterwhile. Coffee only will keep you up for a few hours. I sometimes run a DVD on one screen. Since I use audio pit feeds, I just use a screen or two for visuals. I might have a visualization running on one laptop syncing off to some music. This stuff isnt needed when your on the floor, since the mental stimulation is immense and will keep the adrenaline flowing throughout the day. So a room dedicated solely to trading. Would require: 1) Newsfeeds(atleast 2 newsfeeds) 2) Charts(atleast 2 charting services) 3) TV(bloomberg/CNBC Asia/CNBC 4) Broker platforms(multiple brokers) 5) Sound/Speaker System for Pit Audio 6) 2 or more land internet connectivity. Wireless a must. A comfortable chair is extremely important. Saltwater Reef Aquarium is optional. So this implies 3 TV/Flatpanels 4 or more computer screens(seperate processors) sound system Projection system for newswires onto wall.