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Posts Tagged ‘Themis Trading’

Here Come da Feds: New Trick to Manipulate Market

Posted by Larry Doyle on March 6th, 2013 7:20 AM |

I recently received a message from friends in the market apprising me of the newest “trick” being used by those who like to move/manipulate markets. What are the wizards up to?

Let’s get the inside scoop on what is really going on within our equity markets from our Sense on Cents Hall of Famers Joe Saluzzi and Sal Arnuk at Themis Trading. They recently sent out the following:

From Themis Trading: A new phenomenon is sweeping the equity market. It’s called the Fake Tweet Mini Flash Crash. (more…)

Wall Street Regulation: Different Day, Same Dog$hit

Posted by Larry Doyle on October 3rd, 2012 9:05 AM |

Despite a wealth of political bluster that Wall Street has been reformed, we awake this morning to see that very little has really changed on this front. Financial regulatory reform? Not today, folks.

The simple fact is when it comes to Wall Street regulation, investors, consumers, and the American public at large are being fed the same helping of dog$hit.

We need look no further than a meeting held just yesterday of industry executives and securities regulators to see exactly this.  (more…)

Weekend Reading Re: Knight Capital and HFT

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 4th, 2012 7:09 AM |

Investors are constantly confronting the question whether it is safe to go in the water, that is, to commit capital and make an investment.

With so much concern already surrounding the structure of and practices within our equity exchanges, there was serious fuel added to these fires with the malfunction and accompanying meltdown at Knight Capital this week.

This story and situation deserve serious attention. To that end, when I want to know what goes on within the equity markets, I immediately go to the most reliable source. Who is that? Our resident Sense on Cents’ Hall of Famers Joe Saluzzi and Sal Arnuk at Themis Trading. What do these ‘men in the arena’ have to say about the Knight Capital debacle and the structure of the equity markets overall?   (more…)

Sense on Cents Commends JP Morgan for Standing Up for Long-Term Investors

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 15th, 2010 1:24 PM |

Why are investors increasingly less comfortable putting capital to work in the market? Why are investors increasingly less confident in the very structure of the marketplace itself?  The simple fact is the supposed technological advancements embedded in high frequency trading have come with very real costs for long-term investors. The biggest advocate for investors in addressing these real costs has been Themis Trading’s Joe Saluzzi. I interviewed Joe twice over the last year and have referenced his work often. I commend Joe for often being the lone wolf within the industry crying out on these critically important issues.

Well, Joe now has company in the form of a very, very, very large wolf. Who might that be? None other than JP Morgan. Thanks very much to a regular reader of Sense on Cents for pointing out a story, JP Morgan’s Views On The Five Best Things About the Flash Crash, that ran yesterday at the fabulous site Zero Hedge. (more…)

Joe Saluzzi: “The Man in the Arena”

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 24th, 2010 2:28 PM |

As a result of launching Sense on Cents, I have had the good fortune of developing quality relationships with a wide array of individuals across a wide swath of our economic landscape. One of those individuals I hold in especially high regard is Themis Trading’s Joe Saluzzi.

I have interviewed Joe twice on No Quarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle (August 2, 2009 and then again on May 23, 2010).  Joe is a breath of fresh air in that he ALWAYS tells it like it is. He provides total truth, transparency, and integrity at each and every turn. He has opened doors and shed sunlight on the destructive elements embedded in high frequency trading. He pulls no punches in offering an honest assessment of the markets and the economy. He is uniquely positioned to provide a wealth of sense on cents. Unlike many in the industry, Joe asks for no cover and provides none for those more inclined to operate in the dark corners and amidst the shadows on Wall Street. (more…)

Joe Saluzzi Exposes ‘Theft on Wall Street’

Posted by Larry Doyle on May 14th, 2010 9:17 AM |

Themis Trading’s Joe Saluzzi was designated a Sense on Cents Hall of Fame medalist this past January. Mr. Saluzzi has once again distinguished himself by providing a significant degree of transparency into the technical structures of our seriously flawed equity exchanges.

A recently released white paper, Exchanges and Data Feeds: Data Theft on Wall Street,written by Joe and his colleague Sal Arnuk at Themis Trading is getting a LOT of attention on Wall Street and in Washington. I welcome highlighting and bringing this 3-page paper to Main Street. If you have any interest in the markets and our economy, this paper is a MUST read. Allow me to whet your appetite: (more…)

Sense on Cents 2009 Halls of Fame and Shame

Posted by Larry Doyle on January 4th, 2010 9:47 AM |

For those who missed last evening’s No Quarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle Hall of Fame and Shame Induction, I am compelled to provide a recap and listing of all those honored or dishonored — depending on one’s perspective. What was the measuring stick to make these assessments? Very simply, the pursuit and promotion of truth, transparency and integrity as we navigate the economic landscape.

Some names you will immediately recognize, others you may not. Additional information about these individuals can be found via the search window (located above the right sidebar) at Sense on Cents. The names appear in no specific order of priority or importance. With no further adieu . . .

Sense on Cents 2009 Hall of Shame Inductees

1. Bernie Madoff
2. Nicholas Cosmo: ran financial scam at Agape World
3. Tim Geithner: tax cheat amongst other things
4. Larry Summers: arrogant, condescending, and sleep deprived
5. Auction-Rate Securities dealers and managers, especially Oppenheimer Holdings, E-Trade, Schwab, Pimco, Van-Kampen, Blackrock
6. The Wall Street Journal
7. George Soros
8. Chris Dodd (D-CT): reasons too numerous to mention
9. The Board of FINRA
10. Franklin Raines and Leland Brendsel: former CEOs of Fannie and Freddie
11. Wall Street management, especially Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs
12. Frank Dipascali: a special place in hell for Madoff’s CFO
13. Rahm Emanuel
14. Jimmy Cayne: CEO of Bear Stearns
15. Dick Fuld: CEO of Lehman Bros.
16. Congress collectively
17. Barney Frank (D-MA): reasons too numerous to mention, but start with “I want to roll the dice…”
18. Bank Stress Tests: a total sham
19. Allen Stanford
20. Steven Rattner: car czar
21. Bruce Malkenhorst: receiving a 500k pension from Vernon, CA
22. Barack Obama: just another politician (more…)

Why High Frequency Program Trading Smells

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 14th, 2009 2:24 PM |

Who does not want the American dream?

Get a decent job, save a few bucks, make some reasonable investments, and try to get ahead. As part of that process, there is a premise that our government officials and market regulators will keep the playing field level.

Why are an increasing number of investors in our country questioning the integrity of our markets? The perception that the playing field is not necessarily level.

Is the field level? Is that perception actually a reality?

I commend Joe Saluzzi of Themis Trading for exposing a few weeks back the questionable integrity of  ‘high frequency program trading.’  The nature of the trading involved in these high frequency programs is consistent with my feeling that the equity markets are following technical analysis to a much greater extent than fundamental valuations.

I commend Joe and his colleagues at Themis again today for highlighting an example of the effect of high frequency program trading on their ability to execute equity transactions on their customers’ behalf. From the Themis website today, Real Life HFT Hijinks Example:

I am trading a small cap stock for a customer today (I leave out the ticker for anonymity purposes). It has traded 4,300 shares so far today. I have 75,000 shares to buy.

The scenario: 100 shares offered at $11.16, and 400 shares offered at $11.17. I place an order to buy 1,000 shares at 11.17.  You would think that I should get at least 500 shares executed (100 at $11.16 and 400 at $11.17). Sigh. I get none. As soon as I hit enter, those offers vanish. No trades on tape even. The HFT players offering the stock have convinced the market centers (ECN’s, Exchanges,  and ATS’s) to cater to them and “show” them my order before they have to execute, thereby giving them the split-second option to back away from their offers without honoring them.

Market makers have to honor their quotes, and even have to do so a certain percentage of the time. The HFT’s have to honor NOTHING. In fact, they can back away and even run ahead of your orders!  So much for their liquidity. Again the real danger is that fund managers assume that the markets can handle their 250,000 share small cap position, and that they can exit with a predictable minimal trade cost.

God, I hope we don’t retest.

There is nothing level about that field. This high frequency program trading is done with the blessing of the exchanges and the SEC.

It smells.

I welcome any market participants involved in high frequency program trading to make the case for the defense. Since Joe Saluzzi truly brought this issue out into the open earlier this month, I have yet to see any case, let alone a reasonable one, made in defense of this activity.

Thus, with overall liquidity in the marketplace less than what it may appear, investors should factor that into their overall risk assessment when making investment decisions in the equity and commodity markets.

Challenge your brokers and financial planners on this topic. I’d love to hear their responses. Please share this post with them. Please share their thoughts on this topic, if they are even aware of it.

I think we will all learn who is truly looking out for investors’ interests as we navigate the economic landscape.

LD






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