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So It Begins: The SEC Commences Investigation Into Goldman Sachs Trading Practices
From GATA:
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549July 20, 2009
Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
7 Villa Louisa Road
Manchester, Connecticut 06043-7541Dear Mr. Powell:
Thank
you for your letter of July 7, 2009, to Chairman Mary Schapiro of the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Your letter has been referred
to the SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy for a response.We
are taking your complaint regarding Goldman Sachs and its proprietary
software that may be used to manipulate the markets very seriously, and
have referred it to the appropriate people within the SEC.Please
understand that the SEC conducts its investigations on a confidential
basis and neither confirms nor denies the existence of an investigation
unless we bring charges against someone involved. We do this to protect
the integrity and effectiveness of our investigative process and to
preserve the privacy of the individuals and entities involved. As a
result, we will not be able to provide you with any future updates on
the status of your complaint or of any pending SEC investigation.I've
attached a flyer that describes our policy as it will apply to your
complaint. If you have any question, please contact Bonnie Dailey, an
attorney on my staff, at 202-551-6364.Sincerely,
Gloria Smith-Hill
Branch Chief
Office of Investor Education and Advocacy
»
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"After a thorough investigation, we have determined that there is nothing inappropriate with Goldman Sachs and their proprietary software. Thank you for your concern. Fuck you very much."
Does anyone really expect the SEC to do anything that would materially harm Goldman Sachs?
Hell no. The appearance of doing something by doing nothing.
Circular Filed :(
God i hope the "right people within the SEC" are not inside a garbage can.
Whatever.
Allow me to translate:
Yes we will refer it to our staff, then the appropriate well paid off politicians and then we will show Goldman exactly how it can justify what it is doing (legally of course) in collusion of the NYSE.
Hopefully we can just bury this for a while (much like the climate bill) and quitely pretend like it doesn't exist (much like the audit the fed bill sitting on Barneys desk) and then just do nothing as you stupid people go to work aimlessly about your day pretending you have a voice and pretend like everything is ok....
And we appreciate your concern,
.... AND ITS GONE>>>>
lol!
TD, is there a way we can get Hugh Hendry as a guest
contributor. He is simply wonderful - I have a man crush.
Apocalypse Now- Sorry kid, the dog was rabid, had to put him down.
Translation...FUCK YOU ASSHOLES...by the way GO FUCK YOURSELF FOR EVEN TRYING.....
I only have one thing to contribute to that...No problem...SEC...We'll see you soon enough...and if you think we are going to quit...well...why don' t you go fuck yourself as well...
The SEC is a bureaucracy - an incompetent, corrupt bureaucracy. And I'm pretty sure that they are a division within the Government Affairs department of you guessed it - Goldman Sachs.
Gloria is going call GS tonight and it will go like this:
Gloria: Hey Lloyd, its Gloria from SEC
Lloyd: Hi honey, what’s new?
Gloria: well, some pesky lil prick wants us to investigate your firm
Lloyd: Oh
Gloria: Yea, what should I do?
Lloyd: hmmm
Gloria: This thing is starting to generate some bad PR
Lloyd: Relax! I'll have our boys in the media go on the offense
Gloria: But, what should I do Lloyd, I am scared :(
Lloyd: Send a few friendly investigators and we'll play along
Gloria: ok, you are so sweet :)
Lloyd: you too! kisses <3
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL ..... i'm laughing at this for almost 15 min now
iM' laFFin so Hart I cant tipe. Too freakin' funny!!!!!!!!!!!
Gloria: By the way pet, in a few years I will be looking for a change.
Lloyd: I have you penciled in already.
Gloria: Do you think you will be able to make me an ambassador by then?
Lloyd: Sweetie, I could probably do it right now.
Dog and Pony show...nothing will happen. SEC investigation will be shared with GS to get their blessing before sharing with the public. It just tells you how bad the SEC is...
Bingo. GS OWNS the SEC. I think the point of the "investigation" is more to shut everyone up so they can say, "Hey, we are already investigating this" or "We investigated this and found nothing" while GS keeps minting money all this time. If anybody thinks the SEC can do ANYTHING, they are sadly mistaken.
Quick, inform CNBS bobble heads to talk up the 24% gain that GS paid to the treasury.
Have the SEC turn the HFT servers off for just a day without anyone's knowledge beforehand. See what happens to volume and pricing.
agree 100% and everyone knows what would happen, unbelievable
Forgive me for being so cynical (can you really blame me?), but this "investigation" will likely have the same fate as CFTC's Silver "investigation" - the market manipulation will become MORE blatant and rampant.
Instead of the public, regulators are protecting insiders. http://tinyurl.com/qc75p5
Are any law firms interested in a class action lawsuit against Goldman Sachs and the NYSE ? What other exchanges can be sued ? NADAQ ? AMEX ?
Apocalypse Now- These agencies are put in place to protect corporations from us, not to protect us from corporations. A democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner - the wolves would be government and corporations while the lamb, that would be we the peeps.
"A democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner..." One can only hope that things don't get to the point where the rest of that quote - "liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote" - comes into play.
The SEC has a lot of credibility after failing to respond to two separate tip offs on the Madoff scam. I am sure if they tried to do a real investigation, the first GS accusation would be that the lead SEC investigator is an anti-semite (the same thing happened when they inquired on Madoff). The second defense would come from L.B. calling up Rahm to have Obama call off the investigation (for national security reasons - due to SLP status). If Obama did not comply, they would threaten to release his long form birth certificate ;)
These are not the trading practices you're looking for *hand wave*
TD, unfortunately this means nothing. I filed a similar complaint on GS, JPM, and MS regarding an apparent coordinated stock purchase in January. Nothing has happened with the investigation. Similarly, I got the same response from SEC Enforcement for that erratic day back in May when the S&P moved 2% in 15 mins.
I have received no further communication from the SEC, nor have I read any progress in investigations.
They are no more accountable than the KGB.
Is this the same SEC that missed the whole Madoff scheme?
Even within GS, there will be only a handful of people who will know how this HFT software works.To perform this review, you need specialists. These cannot be performed by the skill sets that SEC has. This software needs to be audited/reviewed by people who develop the software along with people with auditing skills.
if someone with poor knowledge was auditing me, i would know how to make them go around in circles...
investigations of this sort exist for the purpose of analyzing how much criminality can be discovered so as to better reduce the potential for future discovery of criminal acts
Based on the assumptions that HFT mainly is based on spotting a known buyer and a known seller, and making the profit by reacting quicker to this fact than anyone else, HFT works more or less like a tax on the transactions, with the HFT-participants collecting the tax from the slower traders. It is probably one of the least distorting taxes you can establish in a trading world, and should be the privilege of the Treasury to collect, not a private enterprise.
Right. And GS is the treasury, isn't it?
Dang, you were reading my mind, GS et al are getting in the form of their HS trading profits the reasonable tax US should be collecting on transactions if 1) US wants to tax all econ activity consistently so as not to distort money towards something market would not naturally do, and 2) if US wants to put a bit of a damper on speculation so money not made/lost on microsecond transactional volatility that add no value to general economy and instead the money taken from investors by GS and the money spent by GS chasing after PT profits (IT, software) would be diverted by free-market toward economic things that are good for common wealth like investing in companies providing goods and services that consumers need or want and 3) if US wants to put a damper on speculation to avoid unnecessary volitility in price of goods and services that is locked into economy. Much commonwealth is lost in volatility.
Most volatiltiy is as unavodiable as a hurricanes removing houses, office buildings, but to the extent GS's of world create and profit off completely unnecceary volatility in financial markets, it is criminal theft from our commonwealth.
If price of oil generally trends more expensive due to natural supply and demand issues, so be it, the market will evolve by building manufacturing closer to demand, more fuel efficient vehicles/shipping, developing alternatives to oil/gas fuel etc. There is enough naturally hard-to-take volatility in commodities due to things like drought, supply disrputions, sudden outbursts of tensions/war/insurrection etc...it is criminal that we make it far worse by letting the GS's of world excerabate volatility by manipulating things such as oil price. First whole economy is built around cheap oil, and then bam oil suddenly goes $147 barrel even while recession setting in and demand is dropping. So now whole economy has to change...whip saw to consumer, car manufacturers, factory builders, shipping companies etc..wasteful to general economy.
I don't believe there is anyone on staff technologically savvy enough to even ask the right questions. Has anyone seen evidence to the contrary? Inter-office politics aside, no attorney in Boston or NYC seemed capable of understanding the pretty basic financial math that Markopolis handed them.
by my eye ..much more important than high frequency trading..should be a detailed look into the oil runup ..I would think a simple explanation of that horror story would be something most American voters could relate too ..like to see you turn your high powered insights on that ..
That could come out yet. In the SemGroup bankruptcy, there is some pretty hotly contested litigation in which oil & gas producers have made those kinds of allegations against Goldman.
There was an incredible piece on 60 minutes about it... then poof.
I had my inside source at the SEC look in the filing cabinet where this complaint was filed, and the bad news I have to report is that it's BEHIND the Roswell folder. Doesn't look good for a timely review. It also had the same "seriousness" classification ranking but my source was unfamilar the the scale.
ps ..thanks for all you do ..love the work and spirit ...
TD, in your haste to print this hopeful note, you inadvertently left out the last line, which I will repeat here for the benefit of the masses:
Gloria Smith-Hill
Branch Chief
Office of Investor Education and Advocacy
Securities and Exchange Commission
85 Broad St.
New York, NY 10004-2434
-Summers: "The country just can't afford another public scandal right now, Mr President! It will sink confidence in our recovery plan and roil the buck and treasuries. Then the Chinese just won't play ball on another 25 trillion of issuance. And that would mean you'd have to shelve Healthcare Reform!"
-Obama: "You're always the smartest guy in the room, Larry. We just can't let the tail wag the dog. This time it's National Security.
Tell Leon at CIA to order this thing to stop. Tell him to play hardball with the people at SEC. Mention that we control bots that can plant criminal and tax records through the backdoor.They make Goldie's HF trading look like a grade school science project. Do it, for the good of the country."
Under the carpet sweeping will occur. Besides, SEC and FINRA have systems that show much greater detail of maker activity than anyone within the market has access to. Naturally, employees are not allowed o act on it. Point being, if SEC doesn't act on this, it will be bc it's coerced not to do so. BTW-- I know FINRA (and maybe SEC?) employees are not allowed to own GS stock (anyone know why?).
LLoyd Blankfeind: Call the bullion desk bury the price of gold for the next year, those assholes from GATA are going to learn who's boss the hard way....jeesh, I let it get close to $1000 , you would think they would be thankfull
O.K. Everybody get your orders in so GS can use them like a speed bag.
Dear GATA,
Thank you for your letter of July 7, 2009, to Chairman Mary Schapiro of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As you know, your letter had been referred to the SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy for a response.
Our report on the matter is below.
http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp54/Pablin17/fuck_you.jpg
Promptly filed under G
The only thing more ludicrous would be putting God on trial.
I see a lot of folks here who have already made up their minds that this will go no where, probably the same ones that have done nothing at all to wage their complaints other then come on this blog and bitch about how bad they are getting screwed. TD has done the ground work, got the informantion, made the case public, wage a complaint while the rest for the most part, post here, cry, rolling over and take it in the ass.
TD hope you don;t need these guy to storm the castle with you because they seem more then happy with the system as is.
No one is disparaging TD. If anything he/she ought to be commended. All we're saying is that the likelyhood of SEC doing anything about it is slim. If they do indeed investigate GS, I think all of us will be more than glad.
Wouldn't it be easy to simply start organizing fight club chapters where folks can meet to argue and discuss these issues vs. bitching ineffectively online? I am ready to set one up in KY if anyone else is game. Enough talk...action is needed.
-Silence
Word. We deserve the mockery of CNBC half-souls if we can't maintain a shread of optimistic dignity. Was there any other strategy other than exactly this that made our Forefathers *successful* in their day amid much worse circumstances and odds then ours are today? See my post to Brother deadhead below, and let's stay unified. I also note that the two SEC staffers on this letter are female. Wonder how many of these whiny infantile ZH posters are Dudes? I'd venture to say about the same percentage as are GS partners. Hmmm, any correlation? Our own version of the masculine run amok is not going to help our cause, but instead just maintain our currect financial system status quo and make us again legitimate targets of critics for all the wrong reasons. Just take it easy, and be thankful that the feminine is there as always to rescue our sorry asses (full disclosure, I am in fact, a Dude) when we get meek and lose focus. To Ms. Daily and Ms. Smith-Hill I say thank you for your efforts. We're with you, and you can count on us to help.
Thank you for the vote of confidence in women Alexander Supertramp! The band with your name had a great song that reminds me of your post, "Give a Little Bit".
Sent a letter to the SEC.. received the same form letter..
"If you have any question, please contact Bonnie Dailey, an attorney on my staff, at 202-551-6364."
Please tell me you called her to follow-up on your complaint. What did she say?
"The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy provides a variety of services and tools to address the problems and questions you may face as an investor. We cannot tell you what investments to make, but we can help you to invest wisely and avoid fraud."
Dear Mr. Powell:
Upon completing our thorough investigation of Goldman Sachs propriety software and its ability to manipulate markets, we recommend that you avoid investing in the following: stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, derivatives and just about everything else.
If we can be of further assistance, please advise.
Sincerely,
Gloria Smith-Hill
Branch Chief
Office of Investor Education and Advocacy
Securities and Exchange Commission
85 Broad St.
New York, NY 10004-2434
Nice one there..
Tyler, can you post the evidence presented to the sec in some way shape or form??
Tx
Tyler, can you post the evidence presented to the sec in some way shape or form??
Tx
Tyler, can you post the evidence presented to the sec in some way shape or form??
Tx
Sarcasm?
The government, the SEC, and Obama all view Goldman Sachs as their saviors. They believe that GS is doing whatever it takes to keep the country running, and if it means those fucktards on Wall Street make a few billion, well it's better than the alternative. The government doesn't care about moral hazard, they care about keeping their jobs and about keeping us poor saps happy and quiet.
They believe we don't understand the great role that GS is doing, so they will pretend to answer to the populist cries, but frankly they don't give a shit. As long as people aren't taking up arms against the government, they're happy.
All correct.
However if GS takes a shot to the head in the PR domain over any of this they will quickly become "less useful". Thus as an issue of national security (whatev') they'll have to do something to paper it all over, if only long enough to drop back under the radar for another couple months. We're talking about weeks of strategic thinking now at the highest levels of the financial halls of power, the long term goal of a "stable market" evaporated in November and nothing seems to have arisen to replace it. I think this should signal that there IS nothing.
End game approaches, methinks. Politicians under the gun are actually far MORE rapacious than GS, the contrast is breathtaking. The latter are in a dangerous situation and would be quickly handed their corporate head on a plate if 1) their utility in massaging "consumer sentiment" via the markets became impaired, and 2) some powerful politician needed a high-level patsy to take a fall to provide additional padding against the coming public outcry as the last gambit unwinds.
As such my impression is that GS is doomed, I'd give them even odds of weathering the next 6 months intact. I wonder if they've been sufficiently warned already. It would explain the hieghtened, open level of looting they seem to have adopted. Game over; grab what you can and hit the roof running for the helicopter pad.
If TPTB really are playing this like an end game, then the rest of us are pwned.
cougar
"Your letter has been referred to the SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy for a response."
Investor Education and Advocacy? It would appear the SEC considers this as something to blow off by referring it to a department that will treat it as an educational matter. This is called "looking busy". In their case, the SEC is just saying "Fuck You".
"and have referred it to the appropriate people within the SEC"...
Welcome to Garbage-Can-Ville... Population You.
http://www.sec.gov/news/testimony/2009/ts050709rsk.htm
Greater specialization and fewer management layers in SEC Enforcement Division can possibly lead to more streamlined investigations and more expedient enforcement actions. However, it can also "wall off" different investigations from each other and consolidate decision-making into too few hands (at least somewhat oligarchal). I can't get past the nagging feeling that the proposed restructuring is the government equivalent of silos and black boxes.
Perhaps somebody from the SEC can shed some light on this. Just my two cents.
It's not that I don't share the cynicism about the SEC properly investigating GS, but the only way that the matter can be resolved is through constant pressure and light on the subject matter.
Let's all just keep hammering away as it is our best chance for success.
Nice work, best post in this thread. Overdosing on pessimistic sarcasm does not help us, funny as it may be to read. Just take it easy, all it takes is one person with a conscience at the SEC (or FBI, for that matter) to light this candle. I'm saying they exist, and I'm saying thanks in advance for sticking with it in what is an underpaid, glamourless and thankless job. Even at ZH, there are those pulling for you. Kick mega-ass today. Go ahead, take the red pill and make my day.
alex,
I agree that all it takes is one person of conscience and that they do exist. But conscience alone will not suffice. It will that same conscience-bound person possessing a tremendous amount of personal courage and bravery as that person will be blazing a lonely (and possibly personally-dangerous) trail. I believe at least one such person is out there. Perhaps they will read your entreaty (and my reply) and do the right thing.
thomas jefferson put it best:
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."
I would suggest an online work group to develop, catalogue and track SEC complaints.
Tyler, you have the "soldiers", the knowledge and the IT resources.
How about we bring this scandal forward in a public way that is both qualitatively and quantitatively meaningful?
Otherwise, we're left to our impotent cynicism, which serves little useful purpose.
Bob,
I second that motion.
Awesome idea Bob!
Do they even have people at the SEC that would understand how the software works?
The response from the SEC was computer generated.
They should investigate today's trading... looks very suspicious to me
They need to follow up with a FOIA & class action suit.
Excellent post from today's Market Ticker:
"High Frequency Trading is a Scam"
http://www.market-ticker.org/archives/1259-High-Frequency-Trading-Is-A-S...
Explains in good layman's terms just how Goldman's HFT screws the rest of us over.
I mailed both my Senators and my Congressmen, asking that GS be investigated, not only for its HFT but also for the AIG bailout which was a blatant taxpayer ripoff of epic proportions.
So far I've gotten 1 form letter back, thanking me for writing. :(
I agree that a one second time for order should be required.. that surely isn't too much to ask?
In the UK there are rules such as these
5. Manipulating devices – trading, or placing orders to trade, which employs fictitious devices or any
other form of deception or contrivance.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/public/market_abuse.pdf
Why should that not apply in the US as well?
I notice they are using the big Dow weights to prop up the market today
Props to SilenceisGood
Comments here have been getting a bit shrill lately with some bordering on the nonsensical. Many do not really add anything germane to the topic under discussion. This is undoubtedly attributable to the totally outrageous growth of ZH.
IMHO there is a lot of useless bitching going on and not enough exchange of useful ideas on ways\means to change the status quo.
I came here to get schooled. This site has inspired me to crack to books and learn more about how our financial system truly works. As a physical scientist, modern finance never really interested me. In fact I found it drab, tedious and awful.
I phantsied myself an intelligent person and that I had a good handle on how the markets are supposed to work. I quickly came to the realization that I knew nothing. I can't count the number of books I have read in the past months on the workings of the modern financial system. This effort was inspired by this blog, amongst others.
This place has really opened my eyes.
People in the mainstream media are starting to pay attention to ZeroHedge perforce.
Something is happening here.
It's time to take advantage of it.
Franchise Project Mayhem.
I'm in.
P.S. Yeah! I got a simple addition this time
Tyler and Marla have a stunning opportunity to bring about fundamental change. Our society is on the precipice of an egalitarian state ruled by corporations vs. the representative republic we were created to be. Tyler and Marla’s and their high speed team’s Zerohedge website is triggering the questioning of the status quo and bringing to light egregious financial practices that have crippled not only the United States but the worlds economies causing incredible harm to innocent people. Our political system has been hijacked by corporations thru the “lobbyists” and “political donation” scams that turn hard working public servants into political whores for corporations instead of serving the public good as they were elected to do. I ask that Tyler and Marla create a special forum in the forums room where we can gather by state and start to actively organize so that Zerohedge followers may meet and communicate and….eventually protest the stunning rape of our country by corporations and their paid political lackeys. Until we can do this, sending e-mails and letter to politicians will be useless. It is time to start to actively organize so that we can communicate as a TEAM to the people rather than allowing the masses to get their daily news from the corporate news broadcasting circus and other such corporate controlled news outlets. What say you?
-Silence Dogood
You are a man of action, Ben Franklin icon guy. I dig your style, man. You've already begun the organizing no matter what Tyler and Marla might choose. Check www.lebowskiparty.com and see if anything trips your trigger. We can collaborate from there in whatever form it might take if interested (Tyler and Marla already have that info). New social order, sensible economic reform and a viable third political party for the masses (in which I proudly count myself) are all aggregated there. What else do we need to make this dance floor happen?
Anyone who uses the words phantsied (WTH??), "get schooled" and perforce is not intelligent. Just sayin.
Anon #14620
You are an arrogant tool.
I have a MS in geophysics,and specialize in applied electromagnetics.
The term 'phantsied' is 17th century English.
Why don't you read John Bunyan's 'A Pilgrims Progress', or better yet Hobbes 'Leviathan'. They might place today's events in a meaningful historical perspective. However in your case, I doubt you could bet through the preface.
To 'get schooled' is fair;y common phrase.
You are obviously an ignorant American who has never read a book.
You can blow me Sir!
Preferably with a blowguard.
http://www.blowguard.com/About_Us.html?location=main
I don't like teeth.
Jestocost
Anon # 14620
P.S.
I apologize for the typos, if you in fact noticed,
You pillock.
Anon 15055, that has to be one of the best insults I have 'heard' in a long time. I love coming to Zerohedge.com not only for the incredible information censored from the mainstream press but for the pithy comments and the screamingly hilarious insults and witty rejoiners! I haven't laughed this hard in years! Thank you for that....
--
-As Always Your Humble Servant,
Silence Dogood
E-mail: silencedogood001 at gmail.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/silence_dogood1
Just let GS build a perfect market short position and then they'd be glad to turn off the HFT computers for a few weeks to see if they alter market pricing.
"...referred to the SEC's Office of Investor Education..."
See the problem isn't Goldman Sachs. The problem is that we investors just need some "education" on where we can cram our complaints about Goldman Sachs.
You all are too funny. Here I was about to get on here and comment, basically the same thing you all are, and I see the sentiment has been expressed already 100 different ways.
Proactively speaking, what do you all think it will take to actually get action going?
As long as GS is pushing the market up to keep people believing in green shoots they will be rather reluctant to do anything.. now if they were pushing it down, then that would be a completely different matter and it would have been done already!
Get Ron Paul as President is the only thing I see that could make a difference.
What we have here is...a failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach, so you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants, well he gets. We need to get mad, get mad as hell, yell out your window - I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore. Do not for one second accept your debt slavery as status quo and fall into apathy. Do not let the manipulators of fear and greed sway you, they play on your emotions to have you serve them. Demand a higher standard for yourself and for public servants. If not you, for your children and your children's children.
WHERE are the Street Protests??!!
You Americans are such a bunch of sheep!! You are being robbed blind by criminal corporations such as GOLDMAN SACHS to the tune of trillions.
Get off your A$$'s and into the damn streets I say!!
The fact that Mary Shapiro is even AT the SEC is the joke of the DECADE. She did nothing during her past tenure except slap her buddies on the back and socialize while the financial structures of this nation BURNED to the ground.
Her selection to head the SEC alone, shows you how deep the corruption goes. Heck, even old Charlie Gasparino knows that for a fact.
Please take a moment to tell this administration what you think about the Goldman fraud, and demand an investigation.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
word to the wise, make sure you do it from an anonymous IP address.
Word to the wiser, disconnect your computer from the Internet.
unfortunately, that is all too true.
In other news:
Washington, D.C., July 23, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a trader located in Kuwait and three related foreign entities for engaging in an illicit scheme through which they reaped millions of dollars in profits when trading around hoax offers to acquire U.S. companies. The SEC has obtained an emergency court order to freeze more than $5 million in trading profits located in various U.S. accounts in their names.
If SEC was remotely doing their job, they would put a stay on HFT until further study...pharma companies supposedly have to prove their drugs safe to FDA before releasing...
How hard is it to temp stop HFT? They stop shorting real quick last fall, and the advantages and disadvatages of shorting have been well known forever. Normal financial transactions, investing and trading are not dependent on HFT, so shutting it down would harm no one except investment banks...and they can have it back if they prove they are not monopolizing or manipulatiing or using inseidre info.
Is there any private legal avenue to pursue this? like a class action lawsuit by anyone who has had stock traded on NYSE...isn't that the majority of Americans with a 401k, money market etc..Almost every middle class person would have standing.
In the end they'll try to make it look like they're doing something, and they'll put a cap on the number of miliseconds GS gets to front run.
Nothing is going to change because the people who make the rules are the people who are winning.
Period.
The easiest way to stop this btw, is to put a $1 tax per trade.
It won't hurt any of us one bit to pay an extra dollar per trade, but it will put an end to HFT instantly.