How to beat the rise of the trading machines

Buyside firms are spending more on trader compensation than on technology, and the humans’ share is rising, Greenwich Associates says. It’s a glimmer of good news for bankers whose livelihood is…

Nanex’ Hundsader Discusses His SEC Whistle Blower Award

Eric Hundsader, Nanex, received a $750K whistleblower award from the SEC, in a case that resulted in the first ever fine against a stock exchange. He joins Scott Wapner to discuss.
Whistleblower awarded $750K

The post Nanex’ Hundsader Discusses …

Do the Opposite

My friend Ben Carlson has a (typically) terrific piece up on how market action and sentiment impact us. It’s hilarious and true, especially on a day like today with oil and stocks desperately seeking a bottom. Here’s a taste. Bull … Continue reading

“Abandon all hope”

Granville’s ‘Sell Everything’ Call Source: @michaelbatnick     Today, we must acknowledge the turmoil in the equity markets, and do so by discussing an infamous anniversary. On the off-chance you were unware, China’s stock markets had their shortest trading day ever, as the CSI 300 Index plunged 7 percent, triggering a full-day trading halt less than 30 minutes…Read More

Junk Bond Funds Are Imploding. (This is a feature, not a bug).

In the bond market, you can get liquidity or safety or yield — but not all three at the same time. Sometimes, even two out of three is a stretch. The recent suspension of redemptions at Third Avenue Management’s Focused Credit Fund has been a reminder of that. It has caused plenty of angst about the junk…Read More

Bubbles Created by Trading Under the Influence of Emotion

This morning, we bring you the latest installment of your brain on stocks – our ongoing look at how your wetware constantly leads you into making really bad trading and investment decisions. Don’t blame yourself; it isn’t your fault. You were built that way. Today’s edition looks at the impact of wholly unrelated, nonfinancial emotions on an…Read More

Gold Miners Index Down 30% Since 1993 Inception

If you wanted to own gold in the bad old days, there were only a handful of choices: You could take physical delivery (but if you needed any size, you would incur costs for storage and security); you could buy futures contracts, but they also incur steep expenses; or you could buy the gold miners,…Read More

No Spoofing, Quote Stuffing or Flash Orders Allowed

Stock exchanges once were operated as not-for-profit public utilities, managing the listing and trading of companies in the public marketplace. Today, they have morphed into rent-seeking, publicly traded companies in the zero-sum game of executing orders. Where once there were many winners, now there are distinct winners and losers. High-frequency, algo-driven traders — and the…Read More

Deutsche’s fat finger points in helpful direction

Germany’s biggest bank erroneously paid $6 bln to a hedge fund client in June. Howlers like this are common in trading. But this is embarrassing for Deutsche Bank given its supposed aptitude. At…

Where Were You On Black Monday?

Where were you on Monday, Oct. 19, 1987? Today is the first time since 2009 that October 19 has fallen on a Monday, and that has me thinking about that day. I recall exactly where I was — in graduate school, walking between classes, when I passed a television broadcasting the collapse. For you youngsters,…Read More

The Devil’s Dictionary of Post-Crisis Finance

Ambrose Bierce wrote “The Devil’s Dictionary” a century ago, ranging acerbically across government, commerce and life. Breakingviews’ original re-use of the form for finance – in 2007, when the…

Recalling the Smart Money Index

One of the articles in my morning reads yesterday was an intriguing story by the Wall Street Journal with the headline, “Why Morning Is the Worst Time to Trade Stocks.” It reminded me of someone who in my early days in the 1990s was very formative in my philosophy of markets and investing: Don Hays. (See this 2001…Read More

Thinking About Market Risk

Seeing the market crash from a few weeks ago, it is clear how quickly the market can ferociously hurdle in front of one’s risk models.  Risk models that failed to safeguard against risk when it mattered the most.  Models that left many large hedge funds hemorrhaging – top funds which by definition were supposed to protect their investors in the August…Read More

Beware the Bounce!

The pros return from their long holiday weekend, moving the rookies off of their terminals. That may explain why futures were looking so strong Tuesday morning and the market surged at the open, or it may be Shanghai’s late rally that accounts for the brighter outlook. As we have seen, futes can tell us how the markets may open,…Read More