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This is quite the mess. I'm reading lobbyist Jeff Connaughton's stunning book "Payoff: Why Wall Street Always Wins", and he goes into great detail about his stint as chief of staff to then-Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-DE) as they tried in vain to get the SEC to address this very issue. Quite the eye opener: Basically, the SEC doesn't do a damned thing unless Wall Street lets them. Add to that the fact that these trades are so complicated, so esoteric, even the traders don't always understand them - let alone the regulators. It's a casino, and brokers object to even a 50-millisecond delay. Kaufman did predict a flash crash, and the SEC did take notice - by finally agreeing to ask Wall Street for data about these trades. Good luck with that!

Why is it important? Because it means the retail trader (you) will never, ever get accurate information about the markets. It's being manipulated by these high-speed trades and you'll never really know.

That's why this Chicago Fed studyis important: