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US regulator convenes panel on HFT

The CFTC named the participants in a key panel set to discuss a definition and regulation of high-frequency trading later this week

European MP calls for holding period in HFT

Computerised orders should be subject to a “minimum holding period” in stocks to slow down ultra-fast dealing, a top European parliamentarian says

Commodity market’s algorithmic challenge

UN paper finds ‘striking’ impact of high-frequency trading over very short periods, writes Javier Blas

US bourses to fine HFT data-cloggers

Nasdaq and Direct Edge are to impose penalties on high-frequency traders who clog the markets’ data pipes with unnecessary messages that do not result in trades

UK study questions liquidity claims of HFT

Most British asset managers, pension funds and corporate treasurers polled are sceptical that “high-frequency” trading provides market liquidity

Quick View: ICE’s ‘stupid algo’ solution

IntercontinentalExchange may have hit on a solution as exchanges and other trading platforms try to stem flood of electronic messages

D Börse to charge for ‘stupid algos’

Clampdown by German exchange aims to discourage ‘capacity abuse’ by certain unnamed traders

Italy to limit high-frequency orders

Italy’s stock exchange plans to charge traders if they send too many orders into its system

Sweden finds HFT effects ‘limited’

High-frequency trading has a limited effect on equity markets but increased the potential for market abuse, Swedish regulators have concluded

Superfast trading heads to Malaysia

Malaysia is set to let high-frequency traders into its share markets later this year, says bourse operator Bursa Malaysia

Related content and features

Analysis

Superfast traders feel heat as bourses act

HFTs have drawn the attention of regulators with one exchange set to issue punitive charges in an attempt to clamp down on ‘stupid algos’

High stakes over definition of high frequency trading

The battle lines between regulators and industry are being drawn over the way in which a common definition of the practice will emerge

Brazilian tax break boosts ultra fast traders

In the three months to September 30, HFTs’ share of overall volumes in the BM&FBovespa capital market reached a record

HFT traders braced for tough curbs in Europe

What effect will planned regulation have on high-frequency trading?

Research: Academics determine that just being swift is not risky

For at least a year, debate has raged about high-frequency trading (HFT). Has it benefited markets, or does it pose dangers? Opinions remain divided

High-frequency traders slowed by headwinds

Opportunities to make money from faster speeds measured in fractions of a second are drying up with many traders turning back to quants

Market stability: ‘Flash crash’ blamed on computer, but not error

Finger pointed at increasingly wide use of automated trading programs, says Telis Demos

High-frequency trading: Up against a bandsaw

As high-frequency trading comes to dominate daily activity in securities worldwide, regulators and traditional investors alike fear some of the interlopers may bring dangerous distortions

The dash to flash

Stock markets: As the SEC moves towards curbs on a lucrative part of high-frequency computerised trading, some maintain that its concern is misplaced

High-frequency trading under scrutiny

High-frequency equity trading is under scrutiny because of concerns that it places less tech-savvy investors at a disadvantage

Comment

What to do about orderflow information?

Direct orderflow information tracking of large orders is not a big part of the regulated market, as virtually no large orders reach the exchange

Quick View: France’s taxing issue

France needs to bridge three gaping holes if it is to successfully implement its planned financial transactions tax

Protect HFT cheetahs from regulatory poachers

The speed of earth’s fastest animal is likened to the rapid hunt by ‘market cheetahs’ in finding micro dollars in milliseconds, writes Leo Melamed

Long-term investors would benefit from Tobin tax

The case for throwing sand in the wheels is greater because today’s markets are excessively fast but their claim to be efficient is open to question, writes John Plender

Tobin tax would undo advantages of HFT industry

From Mr David Beddington. Sir, I respectfully question John Plender’s article ‘Long-term investors would benefit from Tobin tax’

Comment: HFT debate needs more integrity

The debate surrounding high frequency trading has too much polemic, It is essential independent evidence becomes the focus

Quick View: High-speed predators pounce on volatility

Investors are already dealing with great uncertainties, so rooting out predatory HFTs would remove one, and may just reduce volatility into the bargain

Playing ostrich over high-speed trading not an option

Regulators need to weigh the risks of new rules against the costs and unintended consequences of change

Quick View: Man vs. machine in the markets

There is something of a dichotomy between the quants and the techies. Just as the former transformed the financial world, so the latter are now doing the same, in many cases upsetting the quants’ models

Quick View: Time to get real with Dodd-Frank

The rush to the July 15 deadline has SEC and CFTC staff on a path to burn-out and an industry that feels it is being bombarded with rulemakings and no time to implement them

Quick View: Mifid gets muscles from Brussels

With its review, the European Commission has turned Mifid from being a flabby, principles-based directive into quite a different animal

Quick View: Who uses algos?

The flash crash report showed that it’s time for a more nuanced analysis of high-frequency trading and algos, writes Jeremy Grant

Asia must do a better job with fragmentation

Asia’s pampered, protected and pricey stock markets need a wave of regulatory reform followed by a dose of stiff competition from new entrants, writes Kevin Brown

Quick View: Algos, the flash crash and lessons from history

The Managed Funds Association says the is little difference between the May 6 “flash crash” and a similar event in 1962. But is it as simple as that, asks Jeremy Grant

Quick View: ‘Getting’ the flash crash

In a speech, SEC chairman Mary Schapiro acknowledges link between fund outflows and loss of investor trust in market structures. This is an encouraging sign, argues Jeremy Grant