"Flash Boys" author says the stock market is rigged

In his latest book on Wall Street, author Michael Lewis claims the stock market is rigged - What do you think?

To get more background on Lewis' claim, you might want to check out this recent "60 Minutes" video clip.

Vote first, then share with us what you think and have the chance to win a brand new copy of "Flash Boys," the book that started the uproar on High Frequency Trading. You have to leave a comment in order to win a copy of the book. We will pick the most creative comment!

Do you think the stock market is rigged?

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Good luck!

The INO.com Team

21 thoughts on “"Flash Boys" author says the stock market is rigged

  1. He who has the gold (or the fastest computers located closest to the exchanges) makes the rules or pays for influence with the rule-makers.
    For those of us retail traders attempting to short-term day trade (not necessarily long-term investors), its like a town baseball team trying to take on the New York Yankees. Good luck with that!
    What's your edge?

  2. The problem here, as I see it, is that most seem to commiserate, but all too few want to see this most serious problem fixed.....

    1. Amazon or Apple? Instead on Amazon I buy Newmont NEM and instead of Apple I buy New Jersey Mining Company NJMC.

  3. Wall St. says why not, if the govt. can rig inflation and unemployment numbers, then why not us.... just as individuals say well, if the govt. can rack up obscene amounts of debt then why not us too, that is the example set for us after all.

  4. If you don't that all markets are rigged you better stay out or you will get hurt!!

  5. Aw, c’mon. Rigged more than ever! An economy with annual GDPs of !% to 3% CAN NOT possibly create and support such a “bull market”. This “bull market” is a phony, FED-fabricated and contrived paper-price bubble. It has been created through borrowed money (QE) and printed paper pumping through fictitiously low interest rates that created a carry trade that can borrow at rates below inflation and gamble in The Great Wall Street Casino.
    The price of crude oil is a true indicator of the value of the depreciated green paper,.since it trades globally and beyond Fed manipulation like gold and silver.

    1. Yes, the market is "rigged" and hurts the big volume traders and stop loss orders.

  6. Hate the effect this has on retail traders and investors. That's why I say no, the market isn't rigged. Some people just know how to work harder at it then others. Anybody that's any good knows you do everything in your power to get ahead and get your clients ahead. these guys are just good. Your suppose to try to be faster then the other guy. Right?

    1. yeah...well your not really supposed to know what the other guy is doing ... and then you jump in front of him... take the position... sell it back to him... THE fast guys are the LAZY ones... just CHEATING. smart methods....but Cheating non the less

  7. Current situation is sickening. Wall St is a crooked dangerous place. Electronics or not the brokers have always been the middlemen and take their share. But is certainly is more difficult to make money now than it used to be.

  8. After hearing this story, I just wanted to cry. What is this country coming to? This type of duping and fraud is not just found on the American Stock Exchange. It is rampant everywhere. How do I break the news to my soon to be 13 year old son? "Hey son, this is your America, the New America. Good luck...you're gonna need it!"

    1. Tell your son this is the way it is, this is the way it was, and this is the way it will be.

      Do you people seriously think front-running and insider advantages are new to the stock market in this century? This stuff started before words were written and will still go on after words stop.

      Best of luck everyone!

      1. Correct! Read Livermore's book, this was going on 100 years ago. And for hundreds of years before that in other markets. Yet here we are, either spending countless hours complaining about it, or deciding to trade in ways to your advantage.

  9. A lot of what they talk about in the 60-minutes episode seem to be about market orders. If you use a limit order then you may not get filled if they front-run, but at least you're not losing money. On a separate note, I just read that TradeStation will have a direct connection to the IEX brokerage.

  10. Insider information makes the markets weigh towards the people with access to the information. They take advantage of the investors' who aren't able to access the information on a timely basis. The market has always worked this way. Why expect it to be different?

  11. A fair market is one that has an even placing field, and the stock market is inherently not that. One example is the simple fact that company insiders always have information earlier than anybody else; then you have the disinformation campaigns by different players of the market who have the money and incentives to do so, throw in the conflict of interest between the banks' (brokers') clients and their own proprietary trading. The market is never designed for the benefit of the little retail investors. The HFT is just another natural development in this rigging process facilitated by advanced technology. The difference this time is that this practice even upsets the big boys who don't mind to be on the long side of the rigging, but being on the short side is a big insult.

    The market

  12. When members of Congress are permitted to benefit from information from insiders, what else would one expect?
    When such corruption is legal then the whole system can only be presumed to border on the criminal.
    And yet, they are constantly re-elected!
    Why would the whole stock market be any better?
    What a system!

  13. Lewis simply illustrates capitalism at its finest. Systems designed to benefit the wealthy always find a way. More regulation will simply force some new channel of leverage over the financial system.

    See: http://marketmeat.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/inner-circle-syndrome/

    This Inner Circle or Ring of power, will rise into being no matter what anyone does. It is an absolute eventually. HFT is just the current fad of economic manipulation that those that rule have used to gain leverage. The One Ring to Rule them All takes on even more meaning now... I wonder if Tolkien considered this. (sorry to blend so many metaphors.)

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