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If these improvements had not been made, there would be no Sixth Market. Period. But they did, and there is. Yahoo! |
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Fast, Reliable Electronic Trading Platforms |
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Now we needed something to present quotes, display charts, spot trading opportunities, send orders to the exchanges electronically, receive confirmation messages, keep track of open trades, account for closed trades, and do it all quickly and without error. |
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We needed electronic trading platforms. One small problem was that, as recently as 1996, there just weren't any. |
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This is one of those points where you can thank your lucky stars you were born in a capitalist, free market country. Because a bunch of entrepreneurs got started doing just what they're supposed to do, they created products to fill those needs. |
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Companies like TradeCAST, CyBer Corporation, and Townsend Analytics were among the first on the scene. Their early "point and click" systems may seem a bit crude by today's standards, but how miraculous they were for those of us who were using them to make trades every day. |
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In just three or four short years, these software pioneers solved enormously complicated integration and communication problems, while retaining the ability to change direction on a dime as regulations and market conditions dictated. The story of their challenges and triumphs is the subject for another book. Let us simply say that the advanced trading systems available to you today are the work of some remarkably capable and determined people. |
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The Sixth Market could not exist without these advances. |
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OK, so Moore's Law and the Law of the Telecosm are right on track,and the Internet and the trading platforms are in place. All this means is that these new emerging traders could trade electronically. They still had to become self-directed, and that was no easy task! |
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Consider all of the information that someone might want before making a securities trade (this is a very abbreviated list): |
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