Thanks Ceviche,I'll put in my 10 cents worth, but won't hold my...

Thanks Ceviche,

I'll put in my 10 cents worth, but won't hold my breath waiting for an outcome.

Apropos of same (or similar) this study by the UK's FCA attempts to measure the profits accruing to a small group of high frequency traders through gaming the FT100 index.

https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/occasional-papers/occasional-paper-no-50-quantifying-high-frequency-trading-arms-race-new-methodology

Summary

• races are frequent, fast and worth only small amounts per race
• a large proportion of daily trading volume is in races
• race participation is concentrated
• in aggregate, these small races make up a meaningful proportion of price impact
• in aggregate, these small races add up to meaningful harm to liquidity
• in aggregate, these small races add up to a meaningful total ‘size of the prize’
• The paper finds that while there is only a small detriment per transaction as a result, it adds up to a 17% reduction in the cost of liquidity and $5bn a year in tax on trading volume.