High frequency trading
Thoughts
Phil Albinus writing for Advanced Trading:
Politicians in the US and other leading markets are proposing limits to the unchecked speed of HFT. Bloomberg reports that Iowa Senator Tom Harkin and Oregon Representative Peter DeFazio want a .03 percent tax on nearly every trade in nearly every market in the US. Even calls for a nickel fee on every HFT trade or cancelled order, which is a hallmark of HFT, are gaining momentum. If enacted, traders will have to ask themselves if they really needed to trade that fast.
Adding even just a tiny cost to these corrosive transactions would stop them in their tracks. Which, honestly, makes me worry that it’ll never happen.
