HFT Alert Coming To An Inbox Near You

I suppose that the mantra "if you can't beat them, join them" seems to be what most of are adhering to these days.  Our futile efforts to arrest market manipulation and what amounts to the equivalent of Human Growth Hormone (High Frequency Trading) in financial markets seem to offer no assurance.  So in the spirit of the CFA and ethics and honesty, we'll follow the alerts that are set up by HCMI so that we may ride along as HFT rapes markets while the SEC keeps saying Waddell and Reed caused the flash crash and that HFT provides liquidity, tightens spreads, and makes most small investors grab their ankles.

Pretend It Didn't Happen

From Nanex:

Usually when algorithms go haywire in the markets, they execute trades at wild prices; many of which will later be canceled. 'Pretend it didn't happen' is the current mantra of our regulatory agencies. The regulators would also appreciate it if you didn't talk about these events as they could harm investor confidence. What country are we in?

Until firms are held responsible for their actions or the actions of their technology, the haywire algo's (and the companies that deploy them) are free to do it again and again.

Presented below are three examples. You won't find these trades in most databases any longer, they have already been scrubbed (they didn't happen).

The Chemistry of Government

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science.

I Definitely Think That Manipulation Is Interesting.

Its been awhile I should admit since I've lasted checked in (last saved report was for 8/11/2011) with the CME Group and their Warehouse/Depository Stock reports regarding the inventories of precious metals that banks claim to possess.  CME and GATA go hand in so naturally I had to check in there and see what was being reported.  Naturally we still see continued market manipulation at the clearing house and storage level.  In a world where multiple players are sold contracts for claims on a single bar, corruption is bound to present.  We all remember the Silver Bears and the manipulation caused through JP Morgan, we know the story.  And here it is happening again but with Gold in an effort to keep the good times rollin'.  Here is an explanation of how the ETF to Physical Market works for those unfamiliar.  And to my surprise (that's a lie, I'm not surprised by this) Izabella Kaminska is yet another voice that will go unheard by the powers that we have elected (we being a collective word for us non-elitists):

Ron Paul on The Daily Show: Extended Interview

Submitted by Tyler Durden

About a month ago, after everyone in the wholly conflicted media (just ask one question: who pays all that advertising money – nuf said), on both the left and the right, was ignoring the most promising presidential candidate this country has had in decades, Jon Stewart decided to take Ron Paul under his wing, and made it clear that while those who don’t matter can pretend to ignore Ron, the one man who does, and who reaches more than most of the legacy “serious media” combined, has certainly noticed Paul. Naturally Stewart could have left it there, especially given his own personal political view. To his great credit, he did not. Instead last night in an extended exclusive interview, he presented Ron Paul in a way that he should have been presented from the beginning: no tricks, no gotchas, no gimmicks, no commercial breaks every 45 seconds. Hopefully this is the beginning of the transition of the Paul campaign to one where he has enough critical mass to be taken seriously by everyone – something “everyone” should be doing regardless.

Get Rich Or Die On Wall Street

Well here we are again.  Yesterday's trader on BBC didn't seem to shake anybody out of the US markets as the major benchmarks all rose on God-knows-what hogwash news and information.  I located the following two articles that will be of interest to all of us who deal within financial markets and not able to afford co-location in order to participate in the "dark pools" that run shit.  Given that we're more concerned with the "foul ball" as oppose to the fact it was hit with a corked bat, the debate coming from "trusted" institutions is leaving those with weak spines in the dust.  To survive in the financial industry is to live on your own, in the wild, not really trusting anyone outside your herd but able to detect those who are worthy of it.  In an environment where you can't be wrong (outside of TBTF) and where there are about 16% (U-6) of the population seeking better employment, its up to all of us to pull our own strings.  Knowledge truly is power in this field and the more facts you can test, the more evidence you can observe, the better you will be adding at Alpha for your clients.

BBC Speechless As Trader Tells Truth: "The Collapse Is Coming...And Goldman Rules The World"

From ZeroHedge:

In an interview on BBC News this morning that left the hosts gob-smacked (google it... it is the BBC after all), Alessio Rastani outlines in a mere three-and-a-half-minutes what we all know and most ignore. While the whole interview is worth watching, the money shot for us was "This economic crisis is like a cancer, if you just wait and wait hoping it is going to go away, just like a cancer it is going to grow and it will be too late!". While he dreams of recessions, sees Goldman ruling the world, and urges people to prepare, it is hard to disagree with much (or actually anything) of what he says and obviously interventions and machinations means we will have days like this (in Silver for instance), there is only one endgame here and we hope there is less hopeful euphoria (and more preparedness) as we pull back the curtain further and further.

Party Like It's 2008

The time is here.  For what feels like eons, anyone with a brain in finance was complaining about the lack of  "change" and the increased "risk" to the system post 2008.  Finance has always been a game of hide the debt.  I called it out in a college economics class only to face very minimal friction to my pointed truth about this field.  If your missing a penny there is no way to make up for it, it snow balls in this field.  The bankers of today are half-ass twits compared with the ones of the old.  The fact that none of these f__ks has been locked up or punished for their reckless actions shows many of us just how much the system is rigged.  I bet I would be questioned and possibly arrested if I went and passed someone in the suicide lane on the road and did so about 20 mph above the speed limit.  This division in the gauge of the legal punishment required for dubious acts is just the beginning to a long road to tyranny, news speak, and pre-crime trials.  Until this country wakes up and gets it shit together, expect to be completely run over while you see and hear daily about how lavish the elitists are living while they "fight for your freedom".  I hope you 9 million Jersey Shore views are ready to serve your true king