The high-frequency trading debate has been polarising opinion for years now, and with little impact on the march of the technologies which are enabling it. Here at MoneyScience, we try not to take a view on the ethics or cultural impact of HFT - we like the evolution of technology as a rule, but dislike speculation when it comes at the expense of markets which would otherwise provide a socially meaningful role. Progress is generally good, we feel - but to paraphrase Spiderman, 'with great power comes great responsibility' - and financial markets as a rule haven't done a great job in recent history of demonstrating they can handle it. We may have the technology to trade ultra-fast, but whether we have the scientific or economic infrastructure to understand and control it is the core of the debate.
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