Very interesting book about Wall St. Tech

[wvjohn]

Flash Boys by Michael Lewis. Why are brokers paying huge money for private fiber optic lines that are 10 milliseconds faster from NY to Chicago? So they can see a buy order first, run out and buy all the stock at that price, then sell it for a small fraction more. No risk, billions of $$ in revenue for having the fastest connection. It also explains the dark pools (private pools) that major brokerages use to keep orders in house to maximize their profits. Good investigative journalism and creepy as hell if you have money in the markets.

[Pugsley]

This is why I have always said the stock market is the largest legal scam going.

[FlyingPenguin]

Also the topic of a book I'm reading called "Rogue Code" by Mark Russinovich, except that it's fiction. The author is a real world security expert and his previous novels have been great. He goes into great detail in this one about how these automated trading companies pay premiums for the fastest fiber, and/or to locate their data centers as close to the exchanges as possible to minimize delays and get a slight edge on the competition.

The whole point of the novel is that the network the exchanges use are vulnerable to attack.

Only 1/4 of the way through the book, but it's fascinating:
http://www.amazon.com/Rogue-Code-Jeff-A ... rogue+code

I'll put your book on my reading list. Sounds like a good followup after I finish this one.

[wvjohn]

FP - I'll add that one to my list!