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HomeBarclays Dark Pool Lawsuit and the ‘In Bed with Wall Street Conspiracy’
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 27th, 2014 9:49 AM |
The lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman against Barclays for ‘pernicious fraud’ in the operation of its dark pool sent shock waves through Wall Street yesterday.
The equity valuations for a number of large Wall Street banks declined significantly under the premise that this lawsuit will impact their own business operations in a negative fashion.
Beyond that, though, many might think serious allegations of lying, blatant misrepresentations, fraud, self-dealing, predatory practices aka high frequency trading, investor abuse, and the like mean one thing: just another day on Wall Street.
Let’s play hardball today and navigate a little deeper. (more…)
Senate Investigation of High Frequency Trading: Will We Learn Anything?
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 17th, 2014 8:58 AM |
The United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is holding a hearing today to “examine conflicts of interest, investor loss of confidence, and high speed trading in U.S. stock markets.”
The hearing will focus on two specific conflicts of interest: payments by wholesale broker-dealers to retail brokers for their customer orders, known as “payment for order flow;” and “maker-taker” rebates or fees that, depending on the circumstances, exchanges either pay or charge to brokers for executing trades on their platforms.
While I hope that some meaningful discussion might expose some of the crony, if not corrupt, practices within our markets, if past is prologue I am prepared to be underwhelmed. Why so? (more…)
The People v Big Finance: “This Case Is About Broken Promises” . . . . Strongly Recommended
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 9th, 2014 10:04 AM |
For those who care about free and fair markets — and the accompanying concerns about captured and corrupted regulators and politicians — a recent case filed against the major equity exchanges in our nation qualifies as an absolute must read.
This case brought on behalf of Harold R. Lanier et al against every major exchange in America including the NYSE, NASDAQ, et al centers on the ongoing debate surrounding high frequency trading within our markets.
I believe there is no doubt that those who operate within the high frequency trading arenas hope that compliant financial regulators and like-minded media will provide them the cover necessary to let the games go on. (more…)
FINRA Enforcement Chief Brad Bennett on HFT, “Better To Be Silent and Thought a Fool . . .”
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 28th, 2014 9:27 AM |
In today’s version of “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up,” we hear from Brad Bennett, the Head of Enforcement at Wall Street’s self-regulatory organization FINRA. Bennett and others spoke on a panel this past Friday at a conference sponsored by the Practicing Law Institute.
On the hot button topic of high frequency trading, Bennett weighed in with a comparison that is so dismissive as to defy credulity. Let’s navigate as the folks at Wealth Management were there to cover and reported:
Benefiting from faster access to the markets is akin to buying a first-class plane ticket, and doesn’t sound unfair, said the top cop at Wall Street regulator FINRA. (more…)
Chris Whalen: True Perpetrators in Michael Lewis’ Tale of Wall Street Greed and Corruption Are Congress, SEC, FINRA, Major Exchanges
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 23rd, 2014 8:23 AM |
Today I am pleased to elevate author and investment banker Chris Whalen into the highest echelon of the Sense on Cents Hall of Fame.
Whalen distinguishes himself as he properly frames the ongoing debate surrounding the scandalous practices within high frequency trading in a recent commentary that ran at Zero Hedge entitled, In “Flash Boys” Michael Lewis Misses the Point — Deliberately.
Let’s navigate as Whalen further exposes how our public officials and regulators charged with protecting the public interest are really “in bed with Wall Street.” (more…)
HFT Exposed: Market Is Not Fair; Little Guy Loses
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 8th, 2014 8:53 AM |
Of all the questions on all the topics across all the market segments, the one that keeps being repeated by most investors — both institutional and retail alike — is the question regarding the fairness of the game.
That question and others were posed yesterday to James McCaughan who, as President of Principal Global Investors, just so happens to oversee the management of $300 billion and was interviewed by Tom Keene and Michael McKee on Bloomberg Surveillance.
Regarding market fairness in the midst of current high frequency trading practices, McCaughan does not equivocate in stating, “the market is not fair.” (more…)
The Stock Exchange Brothel and Regulatory Pimps
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 7th, 2014 11:37 AM |
I am compelled to share a fabulous post from Wall Street on Parade that outlines the corruptible relationship and practices that lie at the core of the ongoing debate around high frequency trading.
Major props to Pam Martens for drawing further attention to the ugly reality within this incestuous relationship. Other media outlets should be so fearless in revealing the truth of the captured regulators.
The fallout from the new book, “Flash Boys” by Michael Lewis continues. Yesterday, Jonathon Trugman wrote in the New York Post that “These traders who use the HOV lane to get ahead of investors could not do their trades without the full knowledge and complicity of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.” (more…)
WSJ: HFT’s Real Villains Are Financial Regulators
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 3rd, 2014 10:38 AM |
In what might read as a prologue for my book, none other than the Wall Street Journal writes today that the real villains in the ongoing high frequency trading debate are our financial regulators.
Truer words were never spoken.
While America is fed a steady diet of technical terms on latency, co-location, and the like, let’s redirect the focus to where it really belongs, that is a financial regulatory system that has served to promote and protect Wall Street rather than upholding its mandate to protect investors. The evidence is overwhelming and there is very real corruption that has transpired in the process.
As the WSJ concludes:
. . . if New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and others looking for headlines want to string up high-speed traders, honesty requires them to put the regulators at the front of the rope line.
Now that’s what I’m talking about.
Let’s start with an independent investigation with the power to subpoena. Then get Chris Cox and Mary Schapiro in here.
Larry Doyle
Please order a hard copy or Kindle version of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.
For those reading this via a syndicated outlet or receiving it via e-mail or another delivery, please visit the blog to comment on this piece of ‘sense on cents.’
Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail.
The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.
FBI Investigation of Wall Street HFT But “‘Big Boys’ Always Seem to Get Away with Murder”
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 1st, 2014 10:18 AM |
News late yesterday that the FBI is investigating high frequency trading operations for potential securities violations including insider trading sent a shock wave through the industry.
As well it should.
All too much evidence from respected industry insiders over the last five years has painted a picture of massive front running via HFT disguised as providing liquidity. Front running and collusion are supposed to be illegal practices.
To think that these conspiratorial behaviors are the work of a few rogue traders or computer programmers is ludicrous. Yet I remain very suspect that we will be fed a diet of just such nonsense as an indication that the Feds are going to clean up this practice.
Why am I so suspect? A number of reasons, including: (more…)
Michael Lewis on HFT: “It’s All A Scam”; Here’s the Cause and Effect
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 30th, 2014 8:42 PM |
Major props to renowned writer Michael Lewis for using his enormous platform to direct light on the scam that has come to define our equity markets under the construct of high frequency trading.
As Lewis states, the scam is not only restricted to HFT activity but rather the market as a whole has become a scam. Powerful words and worth the minute to listen to the video clip below.
But let’s go deeper than that. (more…)
