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Michael Lewis' latest book - Flash boys: A Wall Street Revolt

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Article was a great read. But once you cut through the story telling, there isn't really any evidence that HFT is bad for the economy or society at large. Yeah it makes things more complicated. Someone's gonna get "scalped" but boo hoo? People always lose when someone else wins. The rest of Wall St, including brokerages, just have to get smarter and work harder. Which they've been doing.
 
The book will sell well, probably make it on to the NYT bestseller list. But it won't have anything we don't already know. It's been written for the lay public. HFT is a parasitical activity -- but then so is most of finance.
 
I've started reading this book and based on what I've read so far (and articles/videos with Lewis and Katsuyama) I'm not convinced that HFT is any more unethical than the rest of finance or business in general. The market is about the survival of the fittest.

Is anyone surprisd that the ones crying foul are the losers in the game? I didn't notice anyone from Jane Street or D.E. Shaw complaining about the unfairness of HFT.
 
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Max Keiser discusses HFT in the first half, mentioning Michael Lewis's book:

 
Max Keiser, as every journalists and moron out there, thinks hft=front running. Is this anti-hft campaing going to affect whatsoever the HFT firms? I know the Economist magazine hates quant (http://www.economist.com/news/finan...-spot-and-ride-market-trends-are-hoping-fresh). I think this is just an anti-hft campaing done by the losing guys and supported by this moronic journalists.

Agreed. I think there are many companies and Bernie Madoffs in the industry that would like nothing better than to see hf/algo trading die a quick death.
 
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