I don't think that High Frequency trading really a
Post# of 43064
I think you are chasing the wrong bogeyman. It is not the market players that create the poor markets, it is the CEOs that run these companies, the market participants who themselves may be creating false volume in order to run up the stock, and the marketing of the stock through the wrong channels, like SMBs.
The facts are that is you look at markets using basic financial criteria, they reveal themselves for what they are. I am Canadian (so is Biggy), so I am slightly biased. There are lots of great stocks on the TSX that have achieved nice capital gain over the last year. In comparison, there is an Order of Magnitude less that even meet the criteria on the NYSE. And besides paying a good dividend and being interesting companies, they have done nothing other than providing a nice hedge against exchange rate fluctuations. It makes a statement...
As you go down the ladder it is more obvious.. . The NASDAQ... less than 1 handful.. in fact, you could make a vulgar hand signal with the number. The TSX Venture... maybe a Victory sign.
The OTC... xero. Nothing.
And generally I look at the chart, once I have this basic list in hand. Most of the charts on the OTC are downward-sloping. These stocks get marketed heavily for the benefit of the insiders and CEOs, then they do not meet the promises made and die. The only way to play it is to get in on the hype and get rich or just stick with the better markets.
So I am listening about the computerized manipulation. I believe that these things might exist to some extent... but at the end of the day it is about the hype surrounding these stocks when they go to $7.00, and the buyers that buy at that level and at all levels down to zero. And it is about the promoters, retail wash traders, and CEOs that get it to $7 in the first place. If you look at price and volume and do some basic math, retail wash trading is entirely possible.