[telecom] In Report, Speed Trades' Problems and Pluses

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In Report, Speed Trades' Problems and Pluses

By NATHANIEL POPPER October 22, 2012

The rise of controversial high-speed trading firms has generally been a good thing for ordinary investors, a two-year British government study has concluded. The study, however, found that the increasing prevalence of computerized trading may lead to isolated incidents of instability in the financial markets.

The report released Monday night is the product of the most comprehensive effort to date to understand the computerized trading firms that have come to dominate the financial markets and generate anxiety among regulators and investors.

The committee that oversaw the study largely rejected some of the most troubling accusations that have been made about the firms that practice high speed trading, or H.F.T., including charges that they have caused greater volatility in markets and manipulated stock prices.

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