The Fed shocked investors last week when it announced that it would not taper bond purchases. But it appears that some were shocked earlier than others – by seven milliseconds.
When the FOMC held its meeting last week, it gave certain reporters the press release early, but strictly prohibited publication until 2pm. The reporters remained in a locked room until that time.
According to a report by CNBC, market activity indicated that some investors had the information milliseconds sooner. This extra time could represent as much as $600 million worth of traded assets.
The Fed is now contacting all news organizations which participated in the lockup, in hopes of finding the culprit.
According to Neil Irwin, a Washington Post columnist, this episode reveals something important about markets today.
“It is the reality of how much trading activity, particularly of the ultra-high-frequency variety is really a dead weight loss for society,” Irwin writes.
Following the Fed’s release, gold spiked by more than $55 to $1,364 an ounce.
Creative Commons image by: Barry Yanowitz
2 Comments
Rod M. Kerr
Anything to cheat the system and not get caught.
apple
Just stop high frequency trading. No real benefit to society
and creates an unfair advantage in a market that is supposed to open and equal
to all. Fine those responsible at 10 times their profit plus jail time. The stock market is a great benefit to society if transparent and fair to all investors.