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Non-Tech : MB TRADING -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bobby is sleepless in seattle who wrote (4163)	3/1/1999 11:33:00 AM
From: peter michaelson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7382

I agree, Bobby, this is the prudent attitude. The New York Times is a highly reputable publication, obviously. But, yes, they do make mistakes. Interesting that their 'expose' of Datek last spring seems to have had no repercussions whatever. I hope that we learn more. All of the new brokerages and ECN's are pretty much unknown quantities, with reputations not yet proven through the test of time. And it is a fact that many unscrupulous people are attracted to the securities industry. This is not to say that I have an opinion about MBT's integrity. They do provide very excellent service. And their response to the NYT article was very respectable. Nevertheless, I look forward to more information. I wonder if Goldman will publish any reaction to the article. Peter

To: bobby is sleepless in seattle who wrote (4163)	3/1/1999 2:03:00 PM
From: brec	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7382

> some knucklehead says market orders not available with isld which in fact they are That knucklehead would be me. The fact that the RealTrade order entry window always has a MKT selection available does not mean that market orders can literally be executed by the Island ECN. The window is a generalized facility for entering all kinds of orders to all available destinations. All orders that are executable on Island are in fact limit orders, regardless of the labels used by the software originating the order. A market order is "an order to buy or sell a stated amount of a security at the best possible price at the time the order is received in the marketplace" [1]. Island is not a "marketplace"; it's a limit order book: "ECNs are books, or files, of orders. These orders are ranked by price" [2]. But a market order does not have a specific price associated with the entry of the order; that is what distinguishes it from a limit order. (A limit order is "An order to buy or sell a security at a customer-specified price" [3].) If a market order were possible for Island, then it would be possible to enter such an order without a specified price and obtain an execution on the Island ECN; but that is not possible. The explanation as to why it's not (the post which earned me the "knucklehead" moniker) is at Message 8067775 Notes: [1] NASDAQ Glossary: nasdaqnews.com [2] isld.com Also on that page, with a claim that Island is fast: "Your limit order will be instantly added to the Island book." [3] NASDAQ Glossary: nasdaqnews.com