great analogy so here it is:
Picture this scene with me.
Itâs an art auction. The auctioneer is at the podium. He describes a Monet. âWe will start the bidding,â he declares, at $25,000. Do I have $26?â
âIâll bid 25 thousand and 10 dollahsâ shouts someone from the back.
âTwenty five thousand and twenty dollars!â comes another call.
âTwenty five thousand and 30!â still another.
â40!â wails the first bidder.
âFifty!â hollers another.
.
.
.
Finally, an aggressive buyer steps up. â26 thousand dollars,â he bids.
âTwenty six thousand and 10 dollarsâ counters another.
Is this getting frustrating to read?
Now you know what itâs like to trade in decimals.
If the efficiency of an auction market is partly determined by the minimization of frivolous bids, then decimals hinder efficiency. Decimals are an invitation to market obstruction.
Is this a true auction market? It might better be described as a market within a market. What the boiler room guys used to call 'insides.' Pennies are used to nullify bona fide bids and offers, buying time for the specialists and his partners in crime, the floor traders, to trade ahead of you with a complete knowledge of the market at that moment.
As one trader said, "I didn't know pennies would be so expensive." Lately it seems like an auction in name only.
my only criticism is your reference to decimals....i love decimals, i just hate one cent increments, i.e. PENNIES!!!!