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To: yard_man who wrote (7294)	9/30/1998 4:17:00 PM
From: IceShark	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86076

Program trading is an arb, tip. They make money by taking advantage of the pricing difference between the option and the actual securities they represent. But to get the spread, you have to pull off the buy and sell almost simultaneously. So turn it over to a computer program. Now, got a guess where the term comes from. -g- When curbs come on, they make it more difficult to execute the arb transaction, but not too tough if you are good. Regards, IS

To: yard_man who wrote (7294)	9/30/1998 4:29:00 PM
From: Defrocked	Respond to of 86076

RE: "You can't tell why someone is buying or selling a future, right?" The one beauty of the open outcry system is seeing the face of the seller. When they are sweating and crying-out-loud as they sell it into a declining market one can guess they were/are long.<g> More seriously, anonymity is a benefit of futures trading. Traders do try to guess motive by size, "market chasing" and changes in open interest. Also, some houses/desks tend to be more institutional than others and are seen as position traders often to expiration. Program trade has many meanings. I used the term to describe arb. program spread trades between the futures pit and the cash/NYSE market. There is nothing nefarious about program trading. Generally it is more cost-efficient for institutions to sell futures first, sell the actual stocks later in a quiet market, and buy back the shorts as they reduce their holdings. Avoids negative market power and the rapacious specialists<g> on the NYSE.