Underhand Tactics: High-frequency Trading

Most of us have never heard of high-frequency trading. Yet, many experts predict that the next financial crisis will probably be caused by this new Wall Street made practice. Thousands of interconnected computers are buying and selling thousands of stocks each and every micro-second. With no human control or regulation. We delve into a mad financing world dominated by machines, or rather, by elaborate algorithms meticulously developed by mathematicians. Their ultimate goal? To reach maximum profit within a few seconds. But sometimes, software breaks down and creates, what experts call a “flash crack,” an instantaneous market collapse. We investigate the job of speed traders and expose the often shocking methods they use to reach their goals.

PREVIOUS BROADCASTS INCLUDE FRANCE 2, FMG, ORF III (Austria), SIC (Portugal), TVE (Spain) AND DR (Denmark)