Jan 19-22: What You Should Know About Program Trading

A word on last week’s panels in KC (see Dick Johnson’s write-up at his superb blog) and NYC about modern trading: Had a great time in KC and felt we effectively explained how different time horizons and purposes, combined with lots of passive market-making, affect stock prices today. In NYC, it was a bit frustrating. We started in the middle and never got out of the maze. Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn’t. Continue reading →

We’ve gone and done it.

We’re moving the Market Structure Map to a blog, to invite comments (so please comment!). Don’t worry, we’re not about to start tweeting. But I do like the interactivity at the blog. We’ll dual track with the email awhile, then move to alerts about the weekly post.

In the Michael Jackson movie “Just Do It,” the legend is backed by a cadre of dancers in one scene, who, through “green screen” technology are replicated so that it appears to viewers to be a vast dancing army.

Vast Dancing Army would be a good name for a rock band. And Green Screen might be at work in the equity markets. Is trading real, or replications that create an illusion meant to mimic reality?

Continue reading →