Time Thief: Someone stole 7 milliseconds from the Federal Reserve
40 replies, posted
This is three days late and from Mother Jones, but it's seriously a crazy story.
Source: [url]http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/09/somebody-stole-7-milliseconds-federal-reserve[/url]
[QUOTE]In the high-frequency trading business, billions of dollars are spent on high-speed lines, programming talent, and advanced computers by funds looking to capitalize on the smallest and most fleeting of mispricings.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]Last Wednesday, the Fed announced that it would not be tapering its bond buying program. This news was released at precisely 2 p.m. in Washington "as measured by the national atomic clock." [B]It takes seven milliseconds for this information to get to Chicago. However, several huge orders that were based on the Fed's decision were placed on Chicago exchanges two to three milliseconds after 2 p.m.[/B][/QUOTE]
When they release announcements like these, they lock reporters in a room and tell them before hand so they can sift through all the information and figure out what it means. Then at 2PM or whatever time, they are let out. Someone got the information 4 milliseconds early and made a $#!7 tonne of money. The simple explanation here is that there was some insider trading going on. But if someone had a way to send information at the speed of light, or almost the speed of light (which is possible, if extremely expensive), then they could make that exact gap of time, 4 milliseconds, and legally make hundreds of millions of dollars.
An example of how ridiculous this time business all is the fibre optic cables connecting the high frequency trading computers in Wall Street to the main system all have to be [I]exactly[/I] the same length, otherwise the people sitting on computers closer to the system have enough of an advantage to make a tonne of money.
Basically high frequency trading is stupid.
It is probably some kind of leaked info
[QUOTE=gerbe1;42331654]An example of how ridiculous this time business all is the fibre optic cables connecting the high frequency trading computers in Wall Street to the main system all have to be [I]exactly[/I] the same length, otherwise the people sitting on computers closer to the system have enough of an advantage to make a tonne of money.[/QUOTE]
This impresses me more than anything else.
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;42331688]This impresses me more than anything else.[/QUOTE]
I don't see how the people sitting at computers would actually do anything otherwise it would add too much time to the process if they had to press buttons. Either that or they hire jet fighter pilots to press the buttons.
Highly recommended material for anyone interested in this. This is a very good talk about the super high speed stock world of today.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncpm6vRi9F4[/media]
This is all absolutely revolting.
As soon as I starting reading this article the lyrics "No computer stands in my way" were sung in the song I was listening to. It is as if it was planned. Weird stuff though that in stocks how fucking important time is.
All the Stock market is is a bunch of computers buying and selling imaginary large sums of money.
[QUOTE=Del91;42331965]All the Stock market is is a bunch of computers buying and selling imaginary large sums of money.[/QUOTE]
That's the secondary market though, the initial tender thingy is a very important part of the whole corporate system.
[QUOTE=Del91;42331965]All the Stock market is is a bunch of computers buying and selling imaginary large sums of money.[/QUOTE]
Define "real" money.
Is this a new Pay Day mission?
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;42331688]This impresses me more than anything else.[/QUOTE]
Stock trading sounds stressful.
Alot of it goes over my head but just reading about how precise everything is and how Milliseconds can make millions just blows my mind.
So basically somebody managed to start buying early by a couple of Milliseconds? Could it be insider trading?
[QUOTE=Alec W;42332019]Is this a new Pay Day mission?[/QUOTE]
"Put on this mask and then sit at your computer until 2PM and 2 milliseconds, then press this button."
[editline]28th September 2013[/editline]
[QUOTE=Rangergxi;42332067]Could it be insider trading?[/QUOTE]
If it wasn't insider trading then someone has done something insanely impressive. It could be almost like legally robbing a bank. Most likely it was insider trading and not so impressive.
It's impossible for it to be someone's reflexes being faster or something.
[QUOTE=Alec W;42332019]Is this a new Pay Day mission?[/QUOTE]
Can't be, no one told everyone to get down too early, and there wasn't a guy running around spraying the ceiling with an unsilenced weapon.
Ha-hang on, I don't really understand what happened. Um, so, someone got the information 4 miliseconds earlier than was supposed to and made a money-making decision based on it?
But then again, I've no idea what high-speed trading is, I'll have a look, anyone has an easy to understand source of info on that?
[QUOTE=maxumym;42332205]Ha-hang on, I don't really understand what happened. Um, so, someone got the information 4 miliseconds earlier than was supposed to and made a money-making decision based on it?
But then again, I've no idea what high-speed trading is, I'll have a look, anyone has an easy to understand source of info on that?[/QUOTE]
They most likely got the info hours earlier but timed it so that it was just possible they did it legally. I don't have an easy to understand source though, not at my computer. Really at the moment no one actually knows how it happened, the lock ups they put the journalists in are pretty secure too.
Well I'm glad someone stole from the federal reserve cause they steal from America's financial integrity.
These are the kinds of things that happen when an entire world economy is based on the power of the cloud.
I bet the aliens did this.
I'm don't understand the significance of this though; Would that mean that someone was actively trying to get as close to the announcement as possible so it didnt look like they were insider trading, as opposed to doing it 5 minutes before?
[QUOTE=Cushie;42333847]I'm don't understand the significance of this though; Would that mean that someone was actively trying to get as close to the announcement as possible so it didnt look like they were insider trading, as opposed to doing it 5 minutes before?[/QUOTE]
That's exactly it. Though it is just as obvious that they did it as it would be if they did it five minutes or five hours before. The question is how did they get the information?
[editline]28th September 2013[/editline]
The fact that it is just as obvious though is really intriguing. I feel like Hollywood could make a whole movie out of the 7 millisecond heist.
[QUOTE=gerbe1;42333872]That's exactly it. Though it is just as obvious that they did it as it would be if they did it five minutes or five hours before. The question is how did they get the information?
[/QUOTE]
Probably some super rich guy who successfully R&D'd useful Quantum Entanglement:tinfoil:
[QUOTE=maxumym;42332205]Ha-hang on, I don't really understand what happened. Um, so, someone got the information 4 miliseconds earlier than was supposed to and made a money-making decision based on it?
But then again, I've no idea what high-speed trading is, I'll have a look, anyone has an easy to understand source of info on that?[/QUOTE]
My understanding is that its all automated. They have systems which read news, stock prices etc and then make trading decisions based upon it. Wikipedia actually [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-frequency_trading"]explains it quite well[/URL], if in a long winded way. In this situation its possible that they "loaded" the news into the system before it was actually news giving them the 7ms advantage to sell/buy stuff.
I [I]think[/I] this is what caused a load of value to be wiped off the stock market a few months back when the AP twitter account was hijacked and they started tweeting that Obama had been injured in an explosion. Scary stuff.
[QUOTE=booster;42333620]I bet the aliens did this.[/QUOTE]
America shouldn't be blaming immigrants for all of their problems.
I doubt Mexicans did this.
[QUOTE=Rangergxi;42334909]America shouldn't be blaming immigrants for all of their problems.
I doubt Mexicans did this.[/QUOTE]
I don't think he meant those kinds of aliens :tinfoil:
- snip -
I feel stupid saying this but I'm having a hard time grasping this concept at all
The time thief is the disease, meet the cure
[img]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-U0B_3n_J0EY/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAAA/qP8SD_UsRNc/s500-c-k/photo.jpg[/img]
