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To: zurdo who wrote (72719)	10/16/1998 11:10:00 PM
From: Sig	Respond to of 176387

<<<< they could pretty well keep a stock or group of stocks within certain trading limits until options expire..>>> If you can picture something happening and there is money in it, the its almost certain somebody will try. If they try it with Dell, I hope two separate groups with different strike prices try it in the same month... should be fun to watch(G) Sig

To: zurdo who wrote (72719)	10/17/1998 5:37:00 AM
From: nihil	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 176387

RE: What's to stop two market makers Market makers in options make money by capturing the spreads between bid and ask. They try to keep thin balanced positions, and quickly adjust their bid and ask to reflect movements in the market. If they are attentive and busy in an active market they can make an excellent living until they retire with a heart condition or anxiety attack. They try never to be long or short enough in any series to be wiped out by a market disaster. Position traders take long or short positions in an attempt to predict or influence the course of prices. They must guess correctly again and again. They have a probability of dying young and broke far higher than of living to a happy and prosperous old age. There are bold traders and even a few old traders, but there are no old, bold traders. Read Victor Niederhoffer's book Confessions of a Trader and observe the photographs of his lovely, grandiose house and his collection of New York primitive paintings. These now belong to someone else. I think he would have been happier if he had earned tenure at Berkeley (as would Theodore Kazinski), but who can say. Your market makers would do better robbing a bank. It is illegal -- a felony -- for them to agree to fix prices. The Feds will jail them and take all of their money away. They will be ratted on by other MM's. Much cheaper to cover those calls or buy them back at the last moment. You may have an excessively suspicious nature. You should think better of your fellow man. You should also note that the markets are full of stock cops, exchange monitors, crooks, jealous and treacherous competitors, and other devious types who cannot be trusted.