Main » 2012 » August » 7 » A Robin Hood Tax will stop the machines wiping out the market
2:16 PM
A Robin Hood Tax will stop the machines wiping out the market
A small tax on each transaction will stop pointless yet risky high-frequency trading.
From Terminator to the Matrix, our fear that humanity may be supplanted by the machines we create has helped Hollywood make mega-bucks. But while Arnie’s cyborg killing machine and the Neo’s alternative reality remain firmly in the realms of science fiction, our financial sector’s love of a fast buck is leading us to cede control of markets to computers with sometimes disastrous consequences.
The extent to which financial markets are now dominated by computer-driven high frequency trading was revealed again last week, when Knight Capital, a leading New York trading firm made a mistake in its computer programming. The rogue programme swamped the stock market with errant trades, cost the firm $440 million and put the future of the firm in jeopardy.
Main 
