gambling – AmericanDelusions

Flash Boys Doesn’t Ask the Important Question

April 7, 2014

The new book, Flash Boys, by Michael Lewis has reignited the discussion of how our financial markets are rigged by high frequency trading. From my 2012 note: To turn back to HFTs, why do we need this kind of transaction? How do they contribute to economic growth? These activities are --->> read more -->>

Wall St – not about investing but fixing the game

July 9, 2013

An article in the NY TImes today reports that NY Attorney General Schneiderman is pursuing various information providers, Thomson Reuters in the immediate case, for their practices of selling market sensitive information preferntially. Those paying a premium get information several minutes before its release to the general public. This is --->> read more -->>

High Frequency Trading and Deeper Questions about Capitalism

March 27, 2012

A recent PBS Newshour report by Paul Solman on Thursday 3/15/12 in his series “Making Sense of Financial News” gave pause concerning the role of high frequency traders (HFT) on Wall St. (and doubtless on other markets around the world). First, you might ask what are HFTs? These are traders --->> read more -->>

Free Markets – free? markets? – lessons not learned

June 6, 2010

“Free market” has always struck me as a rather strange phrase. Never more so than in this period of financial market disasters. The phrase ‘free market’ continues to be used reflexively. Just as commentators go right on speaking of Wall St. as a source of capital and innovation, few want to ask --->> read more -->>

Do We Need Wall St. and all the other gamblers in the financial services world?

April 20, 2010

What Is the Function of Wall St.? The global financial meltdown of 2008 – 2009 with its ongoing sequelae seems not to have definitively demonstrated the dangers of our continuing belief in the religion of “free markets” nor shaken, especially it seems in the Obama administration, our thrall with Wall --->> read more -->>

Controlling Gambling by Wall St. and the Big Banks – Bad for Business?

January 22, 2010

Anti-Wall St Does Not Mean Anti-Business President Obama’s proposals to break up the “too large to fail” mega banks and otherwise reapply the Glass Steagall Act to the financial sector has predictably brought loud complaints that this is populist and anti-business. Even the rhetoric of the reporters and expert talking --->> read more -->>