Needed—A Way to Flash Proof Your Stop Limit Orders

I’ve never liked stop loss orders.  I’ve seen too many people get blown out of their positions by short term price fluctuations.   A glitch October 24th,  at ATT’s opening shows the typical pattern. I think we need improved stop lost orders to help retail investors avoid being stopped out during events like these—often at the worst possible prices. In the past most gaps were triggered by …

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The “Sell Algorithm”, the Flash Crash, and Limit Orders

The recent report from the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on the Flash Crash fingers an automatic sell program executed by a “Mutual Fund Complex” as the trigger of the crash.  Starting at 2:32 p.m. EDT on the 6th of May this program, referred to as the “Sell Algorithm” automatically sold short 75,000 E-Mini S&P futures contracts (approx 4.1 Billion dollars worth, equivalent …

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