The SEC has at long last risen from its torpor and now is preparing to remove some HFT firms from trading and to impose stricter rules on trading. Zero Hedge broke the HFT story five years ago. Michael Lewis just made it front page news with his new book ‘Flash Boys’. Goldman Sachs (yes, Goldman Sachs) says HFT is dangerous, destabilizing, and needs to be abolished. While this is certainly a welcome move by SEC, why is it reacting only now, after others put the facts directly in its face, rather doing its job as regulators and stopping HFT years ago?
Among the odious practices that need eliminating are kickbacks for placing orders with dark pools and private exchanges, frontrunning orders, placing huge orders to influence prices then instantly cancelling them, and allowing 150 order types, most of which are geared solely at allowing HFT parasites to manipulate prices.
With any luck, many of the HFT vermin will have their firms go broke and find themselves wallpapered with indictments and lawsuits.