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Politics : Ask Michael Burke

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To: accountclosed who wrote (35982)11/12/1998 3:05:00 PM
From: Knighty Tin   of 132070
 
AR, Your note did make sense. The only point I would add is that it is better to be the specialist in some stocks than in others. GE would be a tough job. <G> And there is also the use of electronic trading, especially for large program trades, to consider.

You can tell that specialists do not control everything by the way they call a halt in trading every time something happens. They take losses. Sometimes they go bankrupt. Some are smarter than others. Some get ripped off by insiders.

You have caught the essence of all firm traders, not just specialists. Nasdaq market makers and brokerage position traders are basically in it for the spread. They would prefer to go home every night, and definitely every weekend, with zero on their books. That is because they operate on a shoestring. Even a moderate move can wipe them out. Such people are important and more than a few have abused their positions in the past. But to claim that they are evil incarnate and responsible for all of the manipulation of stocks is to give them way too much credit. I think your note made that clear.

MB

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