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IN THE FUTURES, IT'S MAN VS. MACHINE; Computer trading programs threaten to replace human traders, overload exchange networks.(Online securities trading services)

Crain's Chicago Business, November, 2005 by RYAN, KATE

Byline: KATE RYAN Chicago's futures traders, forced to abandon the trading pits for electronic terminals, now face the threat of being replaced altogether by computers-or computer programmers. Automated trading, in which computers are programmed to spot trading opportunities and instantly place electronic buy and sell orders, is taking the futures industry by storm, speeding up trades, devouring arbitrage opportunities and possibly overwhelming exchanges' computer networks.

The computer programs can involve simple formulas or highly complex algorithms, usually designed to predict and exploit price spreads. Some of the trading programs can enter 1,000 orders a second. Futures exchanges like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), which have already seen...

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