For those who asked about HFT adctivity a few weeks ago, this is a pretty stark example.
This is 5 minutes long. But you can forward to 2:30, and at 2:34
everything you ever wanted to know about why your trading system might
be blowing up is right here. Before the quote reaches your screen it
already happened.
http://www.hftalert.com/hftalert_desc/h ... _desc.html
In this example, Citicorp preferred stock was taken from 26.10 to
26.30 to 25.80 and back to 26.30 in under 1 second. I wonder if
portfolio managers know the full extent to which they are being
ravished on their orders.
With the recent announcement of considering fining those who abuse placing quotes (that will die on the vine like an Arlen Specter
hearing) instead of mandating that they remain in the system for an undetermined period of time, a layman's explanation is that the bookies just got the green light and Joe Friday and the Vice Squad won't be taking calls.