Henry Baker <hbaker1@pipeline.com> forwarded:
Stock Traders Find Speed Pays, in Milliseconds
by Charles Duhigg Friday, July 24, 2009
The New York Times
There's a centuries-old tradition that complains that trading is tricky fast moves, and therefore unfair. The article nearly rises above that level but not quite. Hard to tell whether the people quoted were just whining, or they actually had points to make but the reporter scrambled them beyond recognition. The question boils down to whether the rules under which trading occurs are fair. If so, behavior that makes profit for the trader is also doing the market as a whole a service. If not, the system can be gamed. The question of fairness vs. gaming is not about whether any Joe off the street, or a member of just any species on the planet, no matter how slow its clock cycle, has an equal chance of making a fulfilling living as a trader. Those of us in the rest of the economy should not be trying to insure that old firms, business models, individuals, species, algorithms and chip generations are protected against upstarts or startups. I imagine there are still niches on Wall Street for smart humans. --Steve "PERnicious nonsense!" (J. Frank Parnell) "Don't let it bring you down, it's only castles burning, find someone who's turning, and you will come around." (Niel Young)