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Strategies & Market Trends : The Final Frontier - Online Remote Trading -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert Graham who wrote (8099)	3/31/2000 9:11:00 AM
From: Dan Clark	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12617

Bob, I don't understand your argument... First, Exchange/ECN fees are charged when a trade is made. Second, the Nasdaq Level I fee is (or was) $4. Therefore, Nasdaq is charging the $46 for its Level II book. Island charges nothing for their book. Third, Level II also shows only part of the picture - The inside Bid/Ask of the ECNs. It is just a summary book. It does NOT show the entire contents of the ECN books. Remember that ECNs represent a significant portion of the trades of active stocks. I stand by my argument - $50 is an exorbitant fee for the Nasdaq to charge for Level II. I believe that it is set artificially high to discourage all but the most aggressive trader from seeing the composition of a stock's market at a point in time. This provides the MMs with added advantage because it limits the amount of information that most traders/investors have. While Market Makers MAY have a place with very small, illiquid stocks, they are anachronisms that provide little benefit to most traders on most stocks. Just as the Internet has reduced the layers of middleman, the Internet and the ready availability of trading information and direct execution order entry tools drastically reduces the need for Market Makers. Further, given the Market Makers propensity for backing away from trades and displaying false bids and asks in the pre- and post-market, they are a detriment to an efficient market! (IMVHO) Unless I can see a reason otherwise, I would like to see ONE limit order book where ALL price levels from ALL sources (ECN, exchanges, Market Makers, etc.) are displayed. And, that the price be free or reasonable (< $5/month) Regards, Dan.