Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Non-Tech : Datek Brokerage $9.95 a trade -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MJR who wrote (6317)	12/24/1997 2:01:00 PM
From: Jon Normile	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 16892

Mr Tara, I'm glad you brought up the topic of orders to sell short on the NYSE. It is a complicated subject. Here is the basic rule: an order to sell short cannot be a minus tick (cannot be a sale at a lower price than the last sale) and cannot perpetuate a minus tick (cannot be a sale at the same price as a sale that was a minus tick). Here are a few examples. Let's assume that the market in XYZ is bid at 5 « and offered at 5 _ and you enter an order to short sell at 5 5/8. If the last sale was at 5 5/8 and was a minus tick, your order will be placed on the specialist's book as an order to sell at 5 11/16. If you get an execution at 5 11/16, your order will be at a higher price than the last sale and will create a plus tick which is acceptable for a short sale. If the last sale was at 5 _ and was a minus tick, your order would be placed on the specialist's book as an order to sell at 5 13/16. If the last sale was a plus tick and you enter an order to sell short, which, if executed, would be a minus tick the order will be similarly adjusted. For example, suppose in the above example that the last sale was at 5 5/8 and was a plus tick. If you enter a market order to sell short, the specialist will enter a limit order to sell priced at 5 11/16. Another possible reason for your problem in AOL might be that your order was for an odd lot. Odd lot orders are not represented in the quote or on the tape. There have been a few other questions that have been recently asked on the thread. Let me address each of those issues here. It has been asked whether or not Datek Online allows its customers to buy or sell inside the inside price. The answer to this is a resounding 'yes.' Datek Online has been in the vanguard of giving the small investor access to the better prices that were formerly reserved for market makers. By extensive using the Island ECN, we allow our customers to place orders that immediately change the inside price. We make these orders visible to the entire world to maximize our customers' chances of getting their orders executed. Also, it has been asked whether a market maker can trade around an Island print, even if the Island print was quoted before anyone else. The answer to this question is yes and that is because there is no time priority on NASDAQ. However, there is time priority on Island so that Datek Online customers can be sure that if they place their order first on Island, and a trade is done at their price on Island, then they should get an execution. I hope that this answers your questions. We have always felt that the more our customers know, the more that they will appreciate our service. That is why we are happy to participate in this thread discussion. Happy Holidays, Jon Normile Datek Online