However the shortest distance from the exchange is the floor itself.

NYSE is a Provider for years.

We’re well past any conflict of anything in Finance [or governance] so let’s call synergy when we see it. It’s a alignment of interests. The point of being at the exchanges is to get that split second edge, measured in microseconds of course to front run the market. That’s why there’s HFT, why the algos rule.

And yet little people trade…well hey…it’s a living. Just not for them.

You can talk to people who absolutely know this is what’s happening and are not in on it – putting servers on the floor of the exchange is not cheap – but continue to try and beat it. There really is nothing so irrational as investors in search of return. I think if you told the floor at AC or Vegas that every single game and machine is rigged at least most of them would leave. If you told the faithful of sports [there is no better term, fans is not sufficient] that all the games were rigged most of them would stop betting, but in the “market”….

I’ll check out the link MW.

Vxxc, have you seen Alexander Wissner-Gross’ video on AI and HFT? I thought it was pretty damn interesting. Here’s a shameless link to a mini-post I did: http://cyder534.wordpress.com/2013/06/08/planetary-scale-intelligence/
The link to his talk is there.

Now, as I mentioned doogies of the world are my “orgs” clients. And based on 10 years of just exactly that, and innumerable calls where the problem is you see the Light Speed Barrier [look it up. It quite vexes Finance] I can say two things with confidence:

1] It is not only possible but likely advances towards Faster Than Light and hence Warp drive will be made by the Financial Sector , and …

2] With total confidence the most important, profitable, and vehement exploiter of said FTL tech will be the Finanical Sector, because they are searching for 2 decades at least for ever faster trading platforms to execute the Trading Algos . By platform we mean not just the servers but the global networks the commerce is carried on. HFT or otherwise.

I’ve had long conversations about a few thousandths of a second. Milliseconds. Our contracts have them defined. This is for Global Trading.

The servers themselves have their contracts written in microsecs, usually 10ms< to execute a trade. Less than 10 millioniths of a second to execute trades. BTW that's a few months ago so I may be dated.

Now ponder that Admin.

“You don’t understand how capitalism works. Private equity breaks up vociferous unions and employee cartels that impede productivity. Shifting the capital structure from equity to debt sets concrete targets that management has to hit and enforces firm discipline.”

Well yes, textbook Smith. NOT.

Hell that’s not even Rand.

What actually happens is the semi-criminal and semi-moronic types just fire people willy nilly to get their bonuses. We’re talking about people who can barely operate email. They don’t know how to make a business more productive. They probably didn’t get electricity or understand the telephone until the 1950s. The Criminals running the bust out at G_X for instance hired semi-human white trash from the Everglades when they were busting us out. I think the one guy was a wife beater and I only saw him once, but it’s a good guess. He looked like the guy in the redneck bar who wants to fight anyone just to beat them to a pulp. Walking around NYC dressed in a string tie and cowboy boots. So unpleasant no one wants to deal with him twice, that’s the plan. And it’s why the Doug’s of the world hired him.

It’s a toss up whose worse, String Tie or his relatives cooking up meth. But as Doug notes they increase productivity. They’d be hard pressed to spell, never mind define productivity. But when they fire people they get bonuses, and the Street sees the stock price jump. Even if it’s just a few milliseconds the Quants have made their money, or rather the algos have.

You’re a criminal who doesn’t know it, or admit it. This is a marked characteristic of our elites. You’re entire business plan is Control Fraud with the Fed as the crooked accountant, using the United States as the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. This means you’re in a Union, BTW….

“We’ll still need the same bankers”. No, their services will no longer be required in the Community. Ala Bill – HALAL.

Of course we’ll have banking, but of course not the same bankers.
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http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.com/2007/06/why-conservatives-never-quite-catch.html