This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
"The Market Is Rigged" - Michael Lewis Explains How HFTs "Screw" Investors Every Day
It was almost excatly five years ago to the day, on April 10, 2009, that Zero Hedge - widely mocked at the time by "experts" - began its crusade against HFT and the perils of algorithmic trading (which of course were validated a year later with the Flash Crash). In the interim period we wrote hundreds if not thousands of articles discussing and explaining the pernicious, parasitic and destabilizing role HFT plays in modern market topology, and how with every passing day, markets are becoming increasingly more brittle, illiquid and, in one word, broken. Or, as Michael Lewis put it most succinctly, "rigged." With Lewis' appearance last night on 60 Minutes to promote his book Flash Boys, and to finally expose the HFT scourge for all to see, we consider our crusade against HFT finished. At this point it is up to the general population to decide if this season's participants on Dancing with the Stars or the fate of Honet Boo Boo is more important than having fair and unrigged markets (obviously, we know the answer).
For those who missed it, here is the full video again.
And broken down by segment: in the clip below, Lewis explains how an extra millisecond allows high-frequency traders to exploit computerized trading in the U.S. stock market. By "beating" investors to exchanges, Lewis argues that high-frequency traders can buy stocks and quickly sell them back at higher prices.
Billions have been spent by Wall Street firms and stock exchanges to gain the advantage of a millisecond. "Is it a scam?" 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft asks. Bigger, Lewis says.
Lewis further explains, video below, how ordinary investors are affected and argues that high-frequency traders have created instability in the stock market -- for everyone.
A reoccurring metaphor Lewis uses in his book "Flash Boys" is one of "prey and predators."According to Lewis, the prey is "anybody who's actually an investor in the stock market."
- 74142 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -


They are shameless. We are so screwed.
Einhorn loves it: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-28/einhorn-buys-stake-in-iex-60-mi...
it actually forces 350ms latency to calculate NBBO, and then uses a SOR: http://www.iextrading.com/about/
Basically it's the anti-dark pool. A light pool that forces everyone on the same 350ms page.
not really sure if this would work, and not sure if the exhange itself won't be front-running you.
need further white papers.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and state that HFT is misnamed in that High-Frequency is
not the evil. Low latency and high speed are desired, and we shouldn't be trying to artificially
throttle anything. Rather it's High-Volatility-Trading, in the sense of high order cancellation
and modification that's to blame. Imposing delays on Cancels, making HFT orders binding
is what we need to focus on. If an HFT shop can pin a more accurate price faster than the
others, then kudos to them. But the orders better be real and liable for filling for a real time
period, or have an equivalent penalty attached for faster cancellation - maybe proportional to
the spread -ie force some skin in the game.
the difference between shameless and shameful is a good agent
Surely, the plan to put the slimy tentacle of the vampire squid into a new public orifice was devised and the details worked out BEFORE the 60 Minutes press release.
Imagine a world where the SEC did not engage in viewing porn 24/7 and actually did its stated mission.
"The mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation."
http://www.sec.gov/about/whatwedo.shtml#.UzlgqmdOV9A
FY 2014 SEC Budget = $1,350,000,000
http://tinyurl.com/nhneq9c
Only mentally retarded misfits think that the SEC has a chance to even know what is going on. Did you not catch on? Most of the bigger players saw the crime but could not tell exactly what is going on.
Stop blaming the SEC and start blaming the criminals.
You stop! The bigger players are LIARS they knew exactly what is/was going on! I will go with blaming the criminals. How about funding the SEC well and let them get people in there who understand the HFT stuff and start enforcing some basics like prosecuting front running?
Yeah, the whole 'it's invisible to the naked eye' meme is wearing thin. It isn't. At all.
Tylers: don't stop here -> name the " experts " who publicly or loudly ridiculed ( had their snouts in the pro-HFT trough ) the idea that high frequency trading is a value-add to anything other than HFT traders' ( and certain others' ) pockets.
The majority of Americans living paycheck to paycheck doesn't even care that their food prices are going up and let alone other things screwing them, you think they have money to trade to even give a shit about this?
the only reason this got on the msm is because the squid wanted it on the msm
Thank you buzz, this thing is driving me insane, the lie is so blatant. 60 minutes has become "Propaganda Fairytale Story Hour."
After over 30 years of trading commodities I will flat out state without any reservations that lies and manipulation run rampant. If you think anyone is looking out for the small independent trader you are wrong. An unholy alliance of the Federal Reserve, the government, and the too big to fail has left the rest of us in a precarious position.
For the big boys, its insider information and computer trading, this includes computing patterns that exploit where stops are placed, this improves their ability to wash the weak out of their positions. This is not about just HFT but extends to creating the illusion the economy is doing well. More on this subject in the article below.
http://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2013/07/markets-more-lies-and-munipulatio...
If this was serious then individuals would be able to sue HFT traders in a class action lawsuit aginst the HFT. BS smokescreen. Pimping for Goldman's newsest HFT venture..IEX?. I went to their web site last night and their video looked like an ad for ObaamCare. They are all crooks.
Put an end to HFT abuse by Taxing transactions at say 5 cents. A small transaction tax wouldn't bother us little traders but would go along way to making bulk massive transactions less profitable for the big guys.
The 70-90 demo watching this program has no idea their broker is getting bitchslapped daily and losing their money.
If you listen closely, you can hear said broker giggling while he collects his 3%
I call bullshit. HFT helps with "Price Discovery". /sarc off.
Interesting piece and expose by Michael Lewis. What is not mentioned is how the FED takes advantage of the HFTs. They use the HFTs to push the markets higher. On any day the Federal Reserve wants the markets to move higher they move the e-minis to a premium over the underlying cash S&P 500 / Spyders. This results in the arbs moving in to take advantage of the spread between selling the e-minis at a premium and buying the underlying basket of stocks. In many cases not all of the stocks in the S&P 500 need to be purchased, because the correlation is high in a select number of names. When the arbs come in and buy the underlying stocks, the HFTs take advantage of moving the markets higher, knowing there is a large bid for the stocks as a result of the FED keeping the e-minis at a premium. Everyone thinks there is a lot of buying in the markets, the markets move higher and the elite central planners believe this manipulation of prices to create an artificial wealth effect is GREAT. The FED can do this with no underlying collateral since when they need to create margin for the e-minis, they either print it or use the underlying QE collateral as margin. The HFTs are in and out so fast, they always make money and enable the FED to keep playing the game of market manipulators. The arbs are happy because they are locked in to a riskless trade, and in many cases are able to unwind for larger profits as the markets have their occasional hiccups.
Sounds like Zerohedge needs a more complete article of your views. My question is how much in taxes does the government make on HFT? Does the government benefit from it with tax revenue?
What you describe is merely plain vanilla index arb, which has been going on for at least thirty years, long before HFT was even possible (no co-location and insufficiently fast processor speed back then). It began when large funds, who didn't have direct access to the exchange, tried to leg into (or out of) exposure by using futures. Brokerages, who had seats on both cash and futures exchanges, then arbed to bring the markets back into line. The arb had no effect on prices levels, only spreads between cash and futures. The impetus for any move came from the funds legging into or out of their positions. Since large funds could be sellers as well as buyers, futures indices also can go negative to theoretical cash, which then prompts cash equity selling and futures buying by the arbs.
(Remember 10-19-87? Because of that theoretically unsound monstrosity called "portfolio insurance", the pressure came from massive selling of futures, which drove them well below theoretical cash, which brought the arbs in to sell cash, which prompted more "portfolio insurance" selling, which led to more cash arb selling, which....led to a 23% decline for the day.)
HFT is something altogether different (Tyler has reposted the link to his primer somewhere), related to the bid-ask spread in individual equities. Theoretically it could screw up the index arb, too, because HFT firms can instantly alter the total cash index bid-ask spread appearance and make it seem either too thin or perhaps even too wide.
The point of an arb is to keep markets in theoretical alignment; the point of HFT is to clip orders by being faster than the exchange system itself, and also by creating the false impression of spread width and a false impression of bid and offer size at various price levels.
As for your other point about the Fed pushing e-minis....you've got to supply the smoking gun.
Simple solution (?) - after every actual buy you have to hold at least for 10 seconds.
whereas a lot of employees need to hold their buys for 30 days...
"The" investors want to be screwed every day, dear Mr. Lewis!
HFT brings liquidity which the big banks/hedges don't like because the spreads are much tighter.
So when banks/hedges are on both sides, their profits tank because their spreads are gone.
HFTs technology (both front end and back end) is superior to banks/hedges and the banks/hedges don't like this - why? because it is easy to change the front end, but the banks/hedges continuously fail at changing their back end largely because of risk - ie: what happens if the new system crashes??
So the banks/hedges and fucking bullshitters like Mike Lewis (hurry up and buy his bullshit book) turn to the media to make it a war - a war that does not exist - the HFTs are crushing the institutions - and the institutions can't play their "asset gathering" game anymore.
The retail investor is smarter and more informed and the banks/hedges are losing their businesses as a result.
Interesting take on this. I would like to hear some other opinions from this perspective.
Is HFT really a good thing, or as bad as it seems on its face? Sure seems rotten to me, but this is not my field of expertise.
Banks & isntitutions invest for millions of people's pension funds. Should we allow them to be front-run?
He is spot on. Just look at the profitability of Big Banks trading desk vs hft. Big Banks make all their money on super illiquid/opaque markets. Why do you think Goldman Sachs is anti hft? I can assure you, it is not their care for the average investor.
HFT is primarily scalping - and not all HFTs make profit - like any other trading system.
Programmed trading has been around for decades - certainly the 80's, not sure if in the 70's.
HFTs can move faster, so HFTs can head fake orders like the floor did 100 years ago, but one helluva lot faster today.
As far as pensions go, pensions are all, without exception, ponzi schemes - the math doesn't work unless markets continuously move up - in Oct 2012, the S&P was at the same level as Nov 1998. Problem????
Cradle to grave worked for the post WW2 era because it was nothing but up. Those days are over and entitlements will continue to shortchange/fail.
since when is 'frontrunning' legal. becuz everyone does it? cuz its "technology"?
may a plague of VIRUSés (Virae?) hit all HFT servers....
As long as there's no suggesting DWTS is rigged, there will be no revolution
Why stop there, why doesn't 60 Mins investigate the plunge protection team, the Fed's mandrake mechanism etc. Oh because 60 mins reporters will start committing suicide from tall buildings.
It only took five years for the MSM to go public with any consideration of the obvious. Yes, Lets have a look at this now that the Banksters have run the table....again.
I always wondered what happened to Mike Wallace.
Where is the segment about what the SEC and the Justice Department are doing to clean up this mess?
.....Where? ... several years down the road, these Banks pay their fines years after the crimes, if at all.
If Lewis wrote one book abou the market being rigged by high speed traders, he needs to write 10 books about the market being rigged by the Fed and the government, otherwise.
Exactly! Let's get to the source of the problem rather than distracted by symptoms.
Then he would become a target like the rest of us.
Just givin' you the gears WB. (No reason.)
Oh goodie, now that 60 minutes says it's bad it can now be accepted as bad. And now we can all agree that the intent of HFT is not just providing liquidity to the matket like all the dumb fucking heads on CNBC said it was.
Hooking those machines to buy/sell/hold completely undermines the markets, we all agree on that.
Machines need to be removed and huge penalties levied for their use.
Use them for research, fine, but keep them out of the real-time loop.
Of course, I am still waiting for Glass-Steagal to return as an admission of guilt by TPTB, so this is obviously a naive hope.
Just another example of how We The People have no say in the phony elephant/donkey paradigm.
Anyone notice how they have increased the spread in the more expensive stocks? This really can make a difference in the amount of profit the HFT's make.
I call that a half-baked attempt to act as if nothing could happen.
The other tell that the Market is rigged is just look at where the stocks price at weekly or monthly Option Experation. Right on the nose of an option price within pennies. This could not happen without Market Manipulation.
HFT would not be a problem if we had real markets. These la la land fantasy Fed created markets are what causes the problems. ANd I bet it's the specualtors too while we are on this witch hunt. How come it's always the trader and businessman being demonized and never the government?
"At this point it is up to the general population to decide if this season's participants on Dancing with the Stars or the fate of Honet Boo Boo is more important"
It is too easy to see why/how history repeats. The Founding Fathers created one of the best systems ever established via the Constitution. But here we are 220+ years later doing the same old thing that all societies did pre-Constitution - due to complacency, denial, and sloth. Rinse - repeat. Doesn't matter how good the "rule book" is if everyone ignores it.
Just add a random delay (even a random zero to one second would work) to all transactions, and "poof" ... HFT is impossible and the market becomes a market for all again rather than a highly profitable game for just a few. Since it's just a short delay and doesn't contribute to overall processing time, it would have no effect on efficiency.
Such an obviouly effective, low cost, simple solution is not escaping these guys, you can be sure. We have the problem because people in control "want" the problem.
Science may have confirmed the protesters' worst fears. An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy.
The full article: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed--the-capital...
Only way this gets any traction is if the lawsuits start flying...many and often!
The "LAWS" have been written by the very people that need to get sued.
I worked for a HFT Hedge Fund in London. What Mr. Lewis is saying is 100% spot on. Moral hazard is brokers generate millions of commissions off these HFT as does the Exchange in generating millions in Exchange Fees so everybody in on the game. The whole freaking industry is rigged and corrupt with the guys in the know or on the inside and the rest of the world. Free Market System and Capitalism should be renamed to Rigged Market System and Ponzism. Individual's greed makes me sick. I mean do I need to make 5mil, 10mil, 20mil per year just because I was lucky enough or connected enough to know how to participate in these rigged markets? People need to take a look at themselves.
"A strange game.The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?"
"So what did you think of the video I sent over."
"Well, I watched it becuase it was from a reputable news source like CBS, not some tin-foil hat blog like you usually send me."
"So, what do you think? Do you still think I'm crazy for saying the markets are rigged?"
"Well, I've always known the markets are rigged and frontrun..Just like I've always known about everything that came out of the Snowden leaks. Yup, nothing new here I didn't already know. Nothing new at all.."
.....And the Federal Response, airing now LIVE on your "Business as usual Network, CNBC" . Janet Yellen singing the praises of MOAR MOAR MOAR of the same.
The taper is really no taper, we will find other "extrodinary" measures to inflate the paper.
Once upon a time Barrons & WSJ would have been ahead of this development (HFT) . But Rupert Murdoch bought WSJ to 'save it' and turn it into Bloomberg+. And Barrons has obviously gone after the 'waelth advisor' market to shore up its subscription base (and hence, no 'market catastrophes or controversies allowed....).
You say I am brainwashed, etc.? .......the best post-1987 market crash report was done by a now-forgotten woman reporter (maybe it was a 'team' and she was the lead) at WSJ. It was 'delicately' written so the 'big firms' could not sue WSJ for slander but anyone with some wall street experience could read between the lines as to what happened.
The significance you ask as to 1987? In my recollection it marked the emergence of the US Treasury/NYFed Plunge Protection Team and the emergence of Rbt Rubin from the shadows as one of the puppet masters. And in my opinion, any 'faux' semblance of "equal" regional fed reserve banks was entirely lost as there is only one relevant regional bank...the NYFed. The NYFed, unlelected, is now the most powerful economic force in the US (read western global) economy.......
thank you 'news' media for your ssubservience for a paycheck
Stop letting some firms trade in sub-pennies ...all trades trad at exact penney
Dad: The world isn't fair Calvin
Calvin: I know, but why isn't it ever unfair in my favour?
I'm sure the government will ride in on their white horse and save us. Wait that horse is more like off white kinda like semen colored.
I'm sure when there are no democratically elected gov'ts, politicians, regulators or otherwise ostensibly civilly obligated oversights a magical invisible hand will ride in clad in shimmering see-through armour on its glorious horse of transparency and save us with its ubiquitous excretions of perfect knowledge
Until then couldn't we just rehire Bill Black?
"democratically elected" = mob rule. Isn't that what we have devolved into now?
Since they through out the Constitution, it's even worse than mob rule. It's a cartel with an itron-clad grip. With a mob, you have a chance that something good could happen once under control again. These are well organized, powerful hooligans.
Right that's what I meant: Democratically elected, constitutionally mitigated...
Otherwise everyone ok with the Bill Black solution?
Occam's razor and all that...
If you can scam 'er without ever going to the slammer, what makes you think this will ever stop?.....
I'm 100% sure it will stop! It won't take long now, we're almost there.. when 100% is reached it stops..
"When the team further untangled the web of ownership, it found much of it tracked back to a "super-entity" of 147 even more tightly knit companies - all of their ownership was held by other members of the super-entity - that controlled 40 per cent of the total wealth in the network. "In effect, less than 1 per cent of the companies were able to control 40 per cent of the entire network," says Glattfelder. Most were financial institutions. The top 20 included Barclays Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and The Goldman Sachs Group."
"Science may have confirmed the protesters' worst fears. An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy."
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed--the-capital...
Great, another bridge (of sorts) between New York and New Jersey that is rigged and effed up. Put Chris Christy on it; that will stop the high speed flow.
Seriously, I give Brad Katsuyama even more credit than Michael Lewis for actually doing something about this. I hope their exchange succeeds. I hope they are able to develop a standard protocol for fair electronic trading nd market making that every other exchange will be forced to adopt to survive.
Warning Brad, Goldman Sachs is not on your side. Their endorsement is to get their foot in the door so they can figure you out and destroy you. Watch your back buddy.
One sentence written response...
"There is no evidence of any illegal activity".
Now, lets move along, and don't forget to watch
The Final Four on CBS Bitchez!
Among most traders HFT has been a joke for years. It is now a permanent fixture and will probably never leave because it is now 70% of the volume on the older exchanges. The exchanges need HFT because of the exchange fees HFT generates. Exchanges love HFT and make all sorts of excuses for it.
Only the uninformed retail trader gets screwed by HFT. My stock and futures positions and swing trades are all “Limit” at prices I either get or pass on. Institutional traders now have their back door to avoid HFT.
So the bottom line is retail traders will continue to be screwed by their ignorance of what goes on…
Not good that the SEC does not appreciate the damage this does to public confidence in the markets and the unfairness of it. Do we need such confidence? Are you kidding? Nor does the SEC believe (and probably, after the failed national market system venture, never will again believe) that it should "interfere" with the "natural" evolution of markets by tampering with market structure in any major way, like one that would end all this. Does it have the tools to do so? Sure. But how unpopular it would be to trot them out -- how politically unacceptable -- since everyone in a position run the agency and oversee it has been so thoroughly and completely bought, overwhelmed by so many costly and tireless lawyers and economists working for those who profit from this. CFTC, too, I imagine. A new Pecora is needed. I do not think we wil get one.
Yep. Bankers and real professionals never speculate. They always have an angle.
Jesse Livermore made and lost a fortune speculating.
My rule is never "speculate" lol but if you find a hundred dollar bill on the ground you should pick it up. You shouldnt say "that hundred dollar bill can't be there. The market is so efficient that if that were actually a hundred dollar bill someone would have already picked it up"
Simple solution: charge a nominal fee for cancelling an order.
So......when did Fight Club become Quitters Club?
Is somebody rolling over to become someone's prison bitch?
Whatever happened to:
Ok, not expecting youse guys to constantly lead the charge, but can't you throw this ole dog an HFT bone once in awhile?
Ya gotta remember, if someone doesn't keep sticking the turds in their faces, they'll for sure flush it down some HFT memory hole.
Just another reason the retail investor will give to stay out of this wonderful, ceaseless bull market.
HFT trading is unfair in that they are able to trade more quickly which may or may not be tolerable. However the bigger issue is that HFT can add and remove large quantities of "fake" trades or trades that are never meant to be completed in order to unduly influence the price.
If HFT's damage to ordinary traders is "price advantage from front running", then this interview misees a far BIGGER issue of the market being rigged: The fact that "invisible hands" prop it up artificially in perpetual melt-up mode, preventing it from ever correcting.
THAT's the REAL aligator, whereas front-running is just a pimple on the aligator's back!
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/everything-is-rigged-the-bigge...
If HFT's damage to ordinary traders is "prive advantage from front-running", then this interview misses the REAL ISSUE or the stock market being rigged: That the "invisible hand" artificially props up the market in perpetual melt-up mode, preventing it from EVER correcting.
Lewis should address the elephant in the room, not a pimple on its back.
Hi Tyler,
Could you say something, anything, about how Lewis didn't breathe the word QE on 60 Minutes? NOT ONE WORD! and of course Lewis never mentioned the Fed, or the Bernanke Put or the buying team on Eckles Street.
The other BIG reason why the markets have been rigged, i.e. stock markets keep surging, is because of the monthly $84billion dumb money used to inject "liquidity" into the markets that is zero interest originally used to buy up mortgage backed securities but instead ends up buying that "basket" of shares or anything on each stock market to keep them all from falling down and to keep them steadily going up and up and up since 2009?
The Fed's motto is: "We inflate markets and kill the savings incentive with 0% interest since 2009". Not to mention the Fed's Fisher recent statement that QE is a gift to the wealthy?
Could you PLEASE write something about this story within a story? This is a much bigger story that both Lewis and 60 Minutes seem to have avoided.
Thankyou!
Umm, I dunno, maybe because the book was about a different topic?
It's like complaining because a book on baseball doesn't include a word about LeBron James.
So... don't let a badger lick peanut butter out of your ass?
Kudos to the Tylers for exposing this practice long ago.
Shows you who's running the show, If the government wanted make money they would charge a tax on each entry and tax dividends as regular income.
Dividends used to be taxed as regular income.
Bankers have always controlled the economy from the beginning of time. One I remember is Nicholas Biddle that told Andrew Jackson to renew the banks charter or he would crash the economy, Jackson didn't renew the banks charter and the rest is history.
"In April 1836, the Bank's charter expired, but the institution continued as a state-chartered bank for several more years. In 1839, Biddle resigned from his post, and in 1841, amidst the panic of 1837, the Bank failed. Biddle was arrested and charged with fraud; he was later acquitted. He died soon after while still involved in civil suits."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Biddle_(banker)
Honey Boo Boo in 2016!
Um, ... since I'm just a little guy, when I want to buy 100 shares of Consolidated Lint (CL), I call my broker (more like click my link), and look at the market. I can see the NASDAQ book on the stock, bid 25.00 ask 25.20. I execute at market and my confirmation says I paid $25.20. What it doesn't say is that this was executed on the broker's book and never touched the exchange, and in general I can't see the broker's book. And then the broker charges me 0.20/share for commission.
IF I had executed on the public market then the HFT guys could have seen me coming and might have grabbed the only 100 shares of CL available and held me up for $25.21. That's mostly what they do, or what they started out doing before they also started flooding the market with zillions of bogus transactions. But as a retail investor, do I care? I dunno.
I had a pro friend back twenty years ago who in the early days of online brokerages tried to make a go of it, and he was always chasing a couple of pennies he lost on executions somewhere along the line because he was doing thousands of shares a day, but the point is he was getting frontrun and abused long before the HFT ever got going. Man's got to know his limitations.
Obviously the HFT guys are abusing the markets, but I'm really not sure if they're currently abusing me. Other guys are abusing me.
And no, I haven't mentioned QE either, or the fact that the stock ought to be selling for $19.00 not $25.00.
exactly right. ZH is great, but they aren't immune from the statement "The truth becomes that which sells".
...Complete off topic but... Malaysian flight MH370. Make of this what you will:
http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/missing-mas-plane/story/malays...
1, A senior Malaysian government official says there is evidence in a sealed envelope which cannot be opened.
2, An IBM engineer travelling on MH370 apparently managed to send an image message from his iPhone claiming he is being held captive by unknown military personnel. The GPS co-ordinates embedded in his image EXIF data virtually match those of Diego Garcia.
This will probably end up being another (in a long line) brainchild of the rogue elements of the US government that are holding this country hostage and trying to alienate as many people in the world as possible so as to get us into a major shooting war.
If one is to believe that the plane is in Diego Garcia, a US military base; most likely this rogue element hijacked the plane so that they could capture and interogate Chinese engineers and piss off China.
Outwardly it looks as if the rogue elements of the US government want to get China and Russia aligned to attack the US. However, my guess is that the US communists (including Obumbdumb) and the Russians are secretly aligned...
... but then why is Michele in China waving communist flags and without any US press allowed to accompany her. Maybe ALL of the communists are aligning.
Isn't it relatively easy to fake EXIF data? Not believing the official story, but this story about Phil Wood shoving an iphone 5 up his ass doesn't ring true either.
I find it interesting that I can find the correct Philip Wood when I'm logged into Linkedin by browsing to:
https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=11540289
But when I do a Google search, only his China LinkedIn profile comes up; not the US one:
Philip Wood malaysia site:linkedin.com
http://cn.linkedin.com/pub/philip-wood/3/a46/4a9
He has 184 connections which means that either he does exist, or someone has gone to significant trouble to build up a fake LinkedIn profile.
EXIF data can be modified but it's tricky and needs certain software to do it. Deleting EXIF is easier, but again needs certain software. I have both although I've never bothered to modify it, just delete it.
I read the comments about P Wood as meaning that he does exist, can't speak to national versions of LinkedIn.
Even if one casts some doubt about the iPhone image with EXIF data being sent, there is still the matter of what the Malaysian official said about there being evidence in a sealed envelope which cannot be opened or revealed. That is what really puzzles me.
Add: obviously the Red Downer doesn't accept FACTS, but doesn't want to say why. {shrug}
"Isn't it relatively easy to fake EXIF data?"
Yes, trivial.
It's not trivial and needs certain software. A techy person could do it. That's it.
pyexiv2, exifyay, or just use the exiv2 command line utility.
http://exiv2.org/sample.html#modify
I know how to edit EXIF thanks and I have s/w to do it.
My earlier point is that it is NOT trivial as you state. ~95%+ of people don't even know what EXIF is, let alone have the s/w to edit it or know how to use it. Your Link confirms what I said. Most people would run a mile looking at that.
That's why I said that a techy could do it. That's it.
Putting this daft EXIF editing debate aside, yes, the image that is claimed to have come from the MH370 passenger could be a hoax created to point the finger at USG people in Diego Garcia. OR it could be genuine. We just don't know, which is why I originally posted the Link to the article in the Straits Times for others to make their mind up.
http://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/27834494/
Yeah, because you know, whoever is smart enough to hijack a plane full of people and land it at a US-controlled island in the Indian Ocean would naturally overlook an operating cell phone while searching the prisoners.
Not.
Not to mention that according to people who have been there, there are no cell towers on Diego Garcia.
I have no dog in this fight, but I don't think that ONE person (not "people" as you say) posting a comment on godlikeproductions is particularly conclusive.
We don't know when that person was in DG, if ever.
Attacking one conspiracy theory with another doesn't prove anything either way.
Or Wifi? What a paradise!
You can bet they have Wi-Fi in DG with satellite uplinks into the Internet.
hiding his phone in his arse?
April Fool's muchly?
It is not just HFTs that rig the market.
People take for granted that there will always be market liquidity. However, the only way to guarantee market liquidity is to allow the existence of market makers and specialists and to allow them to naked short and fix price to whatever level makes money for them.
No one can possibly convince me that with existence of market makers, specialists and banks with inifite pools of fiat capital that the price of every single stock (with a specialist or MM) is not absolutely managed.
There is no free market and the only way to have a free market is to stop guaranteeing liquidity.
There are 2 kinds of traders, technical and fundamental. Technical traders are the vast majority and they depend on "signals". These signals are commonly known and readily identifiable.
Let's say you see Microsoft is approaching a key signal and you want to buy. You place your 1,000 share order amongst a book of 20 million buy side shares at that price. You will likely see 40 million shares trade at that price before or if your order is filled, even though they are taken in order of submission. The reason is that they see your order on your exchange (the dumb money "que") and they (the smart money) can front run on other exchanges until the time interval or "theta" expires. You can then take your chances on the new theta, or place a bid below the signal, but the amount of risk associated with each or both is much higher.
Just as I've posted (& experienced) for so long now. Still, the major issue is that: "they see your trade" and that they trade for free while you need .20 cents to breakeven (on a 100 shares)!
Imagine sitting at a poker table where you have to ante but they don't, they always have position (they get to see if you're going to bet before they have to decide) and they have a near limitless ability to raise the bet while at the same time taking insurance (straddle) just in case they can't force you out of your hand before it turns.
HFT does nothing as far as rigging markets is concerned, RELATIVE to what the FED accomplishes with its QE management and price (interest rate) fixing. HFT is a yawn compared to this.
Not likely to go anywhere. Many of those with money in the markets are 'happy' with their returns from last year. Many who are out of the markets or do not have any investable cash don't really care about stocks and whether they are rigged. The only time you have a real 'uproar' is when the market corrects, and people lose some of their paper or electronic money. Anyone who made 25% last year thinks the markets are working 'just fine'...
Rigged!!!!! Suckers & sheeples..
Greatest Irony-----CNBC interviews Mark Cuban about this story. LOL! Are you kidding me? Yeah, he's not a high frequency trader, but he knows a bit about using inside information to gain a trade advantage. Why not talk with someone with a bit less conflict,.....maybe Ivan Boesky can provide a follow up for CNBC.
Since "Liars Poker", Michael Lewis has become a "master of the obvious". He is employed by Bloomberg so one could bet that Michael "the moral midget" Bloomberg gave Lewis a yarmulke blessing before the 60 minutes performance.
Why doesn't 60 minutes do a segment on the book and author of "The Creature of Jekyll Island" ?
I have been a faithful zerohedge reader for a long long time (5+ years). I really think that people need to objectively look at the issues of hft before they go full hog against it. Here are a couple reasons, why you should take a step back before you criticize hft:
1. Since the introduction of HFT, spreads on just about every electronically traded asset class have collapsed. This has been an incredible boon to average investors. If you don't believe me, just take a look at the expense ratios of vanguard's s&p 500 fund. I believe the admiral shares total expense ratio is around 0.07%!
2. Big banks are the ones pushing for larger regulation of HFT. This can not be said enough. Why in the hell would a zerohedger go for something that is being argued for by goldman sachs in op ed's of the NY Times? Wall street Banks make 10's of Billions in Trading Revenue every single year. Most of their profit comes from illiquid/opaque/uncompetitive markets where they can screw their customers for huge sums every transaction.
3. When you compare trading volume to profit, the true scammers are the Big Banks. For an HFT firm to make a 1 billion dollars, they have to do an incredible amount of trading. We are talking hundreds of millions of transactions. In fact, the darling of HFT, virtu, in its best years makes 3-4 hundred million in trading revenue. This is small bread crumbs compared to the Big Banks.
HFT is not perfect, but, it has done a lot of good and anyone who denies it is just flat out lying. If you want to go back to the days of multiple % spreads, be my guest.
AJ - Fair comments however incomplete. The Exchanges (some more thasn others) cater / change their rules of engagement to favor HFT's.
Michael Lewis is a Bloomberg shill, the HFT issues have been known for 3 or 4 years. Lewis and 60 Minutes only now doing an "expose" is just another misdirection effort to take the spotlight off of the Fed's QE money printing... as that is the root of all evil.
Plase don't try to justify crooked behavior by saying "but the fees are lower."
Level the playing field and let the fees be what they may be.
Goldman is complaining because JP Morgan is outdoing them in the cheating by far.
"Honet Boo Boo"
I think the French Honey Boo Boo is actually named Mlle Honêt Boux-Boux.
How about a little love for Nanex and Hunsader? Their information has been invaluable.
All videos sponsored by Viagra. Fitting.
Well, guess it doesn't matter anymore now that it's all over the MSM.
Everybody is ripping HFT today after Lewis' interview. It's amazing how much airtime and print space is being given to HFT rigging when nothing is said in MSM about the Fed's really BIG RIG. They've been doing it for decades and they don't even have to be smart enough to manipulate markets with expensive high-speed computers. They just pronounce how they'll rig it in plain view.
Janet Yellen just proclaimed today that free money for the rich and more debt for the masses is not going away as long as she's in charge. Has Michael Lewis noticed how QE has hurt millions of savers and rewarded reckless and often criminal market players over the past five years? Has he noticed how that has inflated prices for everybody?
This sudden focus on HFT is misdirection as practiced by magicians. Now watch the public fall for it. Again.
You just can't please some people, namely you, Cyclerider.
Did it occur to you that Yellen's action today was in RESPONSE to the "60 Minutes" expose?
Lewis and "60 Minutes" have done the public a HUGE service. Just accept it for what it is. The public now knows what very few have been aware of.
That's a good - no a great - thing.
They could have talked to Nanex four years ago.
Sorry,Off Topic,but has anyone got confirmation of the Diego Garcia cell phone transmission of one Phil Woods,from MHC370? Tyler?
Says the plane was hijacked and the GPS coordinates from iphone are correct.
Seems a very sick joke from someone if it is a hoax,but then so much strange sh*t in the last five years.
I know it sounds odd that he put the phone up his bum to hide it but stranger stuff has happened.If this is a legit SOS then the lads in Langley have some 'splaining to do...
Only 1 source.
I think the plane was ransomed for the political buddy of the pilot, the Malay Govt. said no so he crashed it.
Malaysia gov. has been hinky the whole time.
What's moar dangerous is the photos of the duplicate jet in Tel Aviv from Reporters w/o borders.
The same shysters who attacked USS Liberty may be up to something
This article is a pretty simple nuts and bolts explanation of HFT skimming money.
Is the U.S. stock market rigged? - CBS News
I think fatso Rush ripped this story off. I hope he gave Tylers credit.
FAT CHANCE...
;-D
You can rig lies and dis/mis-information, but you can not rig the truth. It will always rise above the fumid putrid evil that is responsible for the cheating, and corrupted criminality in the markets. Maybe some day the world will see fair trade again.
Meanwhile, if you have not already done so, go listen to Mike Rivero on RBN right NOW and please consider donating to the Republic Broadcasting Network.
http://republicbroadcasting.org/listen-live/
One day left: Download the app RIGHT NOW for a chance to win $50,000 dollars! There is a one in 10,000 chance it could be you!
http://republicbroadcasting.org/do-you-have-an-iphone-ipad-or-an-android...
Today is their last day to make the grade. Please, the Universe knows you are there with a great big huge heart that has a pocketbook to match it. Will you please finally shift gears and make that magnanimous donation to save this truth telling network. Ben Swann just finished his two hours, and now comes Mike Rivero, then John Stadtmiller at 4:00 central time. Please do the right-up thing and donate now. Dig deep!!
http://republicbroadcasting.org/help-rbn-pledge-drive-rbn-monthly-expenses/
Also, for the financially minded folks here, Robby Noel and Jeff Bennett will be back on air after the John Stadtmiller Intel Report. These guys are a hoot to listen to, and they cover all things financial in the after market time.
http://republicbroadcasting.org/protecting-your-wealth-with-jeffrey-benn...
This is NOT an April fools tool shed errand, rather it is a chance to lay up some serious treasures in heaven where they will count for you the most. Please do it now. Donate as much as you can. The karmic return will be golden, and beautiful.
Bless.
again: stop trolling for contributions and fuck the "app".......
“Is it a scam” 60 minutes correspondent Steve Kroft asks “Bigger” Lewes replys” Yes it is 'bigger” like conspiracy bigger!
How can you prosecute Erik Holder for conspiracy, lies and fraud when he is the Attorney General in charge of prosecution? -You can't!
Crashing the American and world economy via HFT would mean that the Bankster/Big Oil criminals would be brought to Justice. The conspirator criminal gang will throw the entire world into war rather than be brought to Justice.
Maybe Putin, the new leader of the Free World, will save us from the fascistic criminal bullies! Maybe China and Russia together will clamp down on the international criminals first!
How many brainwashed stupid American people still believe that the USA has a Free Enterprise System (free from monopolies) capitalist economy and Democracy (government of, for and by the People) for government?
I wouldn't put much faith in Putin. He's a major stockholder of Gazprom. ie, there are no good guys at the top.
Sharpen your knives, de-rust your pitchforks, make sure the torches still work, and remember that when the time for a good rope comes along, hemp fibers make the strongest rope...all you need is a good tree or lamp post.
How to fuck the banksters (according to this guy anyway).
http://halfpasthuman.com/essays/perpetuo_autem_4.html
I like CPL's one cent stink bid ploy (void where prohibited NATCH)... or if you have the wherewithal:
http://www.gata.org/node/11316
Honestly, I love that idea. Wouldn't it be amazing if, every day, thousands of thousands (i.e. millions) of people took to the Internet, aghast with rumours of the suicide of CEOs, the SEC/FBI having knowledge of marketing fixing against one firm, the fact that there are 'rumors' that firms have over-reported earnings, etc.
Think like this, in one of the cases of the longest short and long calls in history, Herbalife, the two big players could both end up making billions. One could sell out at the top, right before his anonymous call to the FBI/SEC that this is actually a Ponzi scheme, while the other makes his fortune when said statement is confirmed.
Who loses? Uhm, well, just about everyone who listened to either one of these ass-clowns.
So, what if we became the market lever for statements? I heard Goldman was being investigated for insider trading - could be one of the mos unctuous statements that could be made in Twitter and every other social medium,
Consider this...if statements uttered by 1/2 dozen or more 'trusted' or simply 'followed' sources were repeated millions of times, how FUCKED would most companies and individuals turn out to be?
What do you think the government does if they really want to screw you? You haven't done anything wrong, but you've got some really damning shit on the government or a huge corporation. You just want to leave town. Wow, all of a sudden you've made it on the Amber Alert with your license plate, description and some sick statement about what you did.
Has anyone ever thought about what happens after that person is caught? (Please excuse the main exception of when it is used for its true purpose. This post is not in any way being made to undermine or diminish the hurt and pain felt by these families and friends. But, I think there has been some evidence of abuse of the system. Or, maybe not.)
But, 10,000,000 tweets that Zuckerberg just bought a company to funnel $19 Billion to Israel and pay back the CIA, FBI and others for his success at what seems like a company he stole, might be a great billion tweets.
Tweet tweet.
Voices travel.
Rumors hurt - but they're 99.99% of the time used by the PTB to fuck individuals and companies that don't play ball - look at the only Telecom Exec to say no when the government asked for access to his company's data. He spent a long time in jail, never perjured himself, never gave up his promises under Top Secret clearance, and it ruined a good part of his life (but didn't take his dignity). He said "NO" to the government, when he could have made hundreds of millions by saying "Uhm, yeah, sure." Why don't we get this guy a Nobel Peace Prize?
If only I had read ZH two years ago, I would have saved me and my family thousands! These pricks have cheated my kids out of their money for college. I wish that they burn in hell. This is just not right! And why dont the "good guy" in our power structure put a stop to this? Remember that most peopel working for .gov are good hard working peopel like the folks here on ZH. This just boggles my mind.
Yes, most people who work for .gov are good guys. Unfortunately, this is the Matrix, and the good guys have to go thru the ex-goldman "gatekeeper".
While finding out that we are all slaves is bad, finding out that our Rothschild slave masters have so little integrity they actually steal from us is too much. Time to get rid of them.
Critical analysis by stock traders.
http://youtu.be/d-B8av2RSlo
and more
http://youtu.be/HbgqY2ecce8
They seem to miss the point.
Here's the whole 60 Minutes piece:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BweADB78tBY
Well thanks to Tyler we knew of these scourges years ago. Passingf themselves off as professionals while at the same time rigging the markets so that they can't lose. Their benefits are largely offset by their ignorance and greed. After all if we don't do it then the other companies will have an unfair advantage. As Tyler said, "let them feast on each other".
Atlas shrugged says it best. Attacks on our freedoms and on our money by those who create rules to protect them from us.
You had better do something ladies and gentlemen before it is too late. It may already be.
Don't forget Goldman
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/jul/06/golman-sachs-computer-co...
Imagine how bad the robbing and stealing was going before everyone had the internet at their finget tips!
There was a time when one could make reasonable purchase/sell decisions based on fundamentals, history & personal savvy. When trades began to go bad, for no apparent reason, I reasoned that the game had become rigged. haven't traded a penny in over 4 years. PM's
On HFT traders and their puppet masters: I don't care how you draw them, and I don't care how you quarter them. As long as they end up drawn and quartered. I cashed out of the markets in '99. Today, I wouldn't even be in the market with your money. The gamers are having a ball right now, but I see smoke on the water...
The moneychangers have taken over the temple. Where is Jesus when you need him?
Keep up with your preps!!!!!!!!!!!!!
;-D
The advent of technology has been a phenomenal benefit to trading activity, and has certainly decreased spreads and improved execution.
However, skimming is skimming, and provides an iniquitous advantage to those that practice it, no matter which way you slice it. It should be eliminated, as it ads zero value to the financial industry and investors.
End of story.
I do agree, however, that there are even bigger fish to fry regarding the inside dealings between the FED and its TBTF banking cabal board members.
I hope Virtu or GETCO have SIFI status, or Holder may actually have to prosecute somebody.
FBI Investigating High-Speed TradersMarch 31, 2014 5:37 p.m. ET
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405270230488690457947387418...
Its all a big con game. The fact that we actually try and "invest" is a joke. If you lost money its your fault. I lost a princely sum and it is my fault. I was the fool. I bet on gold and silver. Blaming others is the other fools game.
One solution how the individual investor can avoid it, has not been named:
Place your orders not as market orders, but as limit orders. Problem solved.
HFT is just apparently just a way to exploit the systems of the stock market. What rigs the market are things that worked back in the pencil and paper days and still work today. That is simply having the inside track on information.
Ever wonder why it took a a young Canadian kid, Brad Katsuyama, to figure it out? Because by the time one becomes senior trader at a large American bank, any potential rebels have been weeded out and what's left is naked greed and conformity with established order. Lots of people knew what Katsuyama found out, but they liked their large paycheck too much to talk. Brad might just have an unexplained heart attack sometime, I fear.