yes, the liquidity argument is generally what gets mentioned as...

yes, the liquidity argument is generally what gets mentioned as to why it's a 'good thing'. really thought its just Algos trading to themselves to bring the price down on directions from brokers, again with the unfair advantage of being able to trade small amounts. sure punters can trade into it... but that only helps a select few. not to mention knocks out a few stop losses along the way.

I understand your view. if it's not illegal then it's not immoral. but you gotta think that 75% of the time it's definitely manipulation. you only have to go to Friday arvo drinks with a few brokers to know this. Proving it though... is another issue.

anyway... we aren't going to change the world here, and a lot of it we agree on. I'm just of the view brokers have gotten very good at hiding how they manipulate the market. and as you say... if you can't prove illegal actions, then we keep playing the game. would be nice of the ASX to keep them in check every once and a while though, even with some tougher regulations.