September 29, 2009
I wish to say that I am against flash trading. When I attempt to buy a stock, I look at time and sales of current real time trades and for example, for a stock, the bid may be $5.00 and the offer may be $5.01. Although these are the bid and offer visible, I will see trades filled back and forth at sold at $5.0099 and bought at $5.0001. This can go on numerous times. These flash trades prevent price discovery. With flash trades present I do not get a feel for the real current price of the stock. The flash trades inhibit the real buyers' and sellers' actions from causing a stock to find its own true price level.