Bryan, which 2 minute rule are you referring to?
I recently read that a 1 minute 'ignore' rule has been reduced to a 30 second rule.
The speed at which modern securities transactions can be executed is at the center of a fascinating debate. The debate concerns the Intermarket Trading System. That's a system which links the NYSE and the other national securities exchanges, as well as Nasdaq, making possible the routing of listed stock orders. <b>Earlier this year, the exchanges started a pilot program that reduces to 30 seconds, the maximum time allowed for participants to respond to orders coming from others on the ITS. Before that, exchanges had as long as 60 seconds to respond.</b>
<a href="http://www.tradersmagazine.com/articledetail.cfm?mag_id=1&aid=1182&year=2002&search="><font size=1>TradersOnline, 4/01/02.</font></a>
Now, suppose they had 60 seconds (or even 30) to respond to the 'crowd?' What if they turned and did electronic business while the crowd stood there and watched thier orders sitting for half a minute? How would the crowd rate them during the annual 'rate the specialist' process?
This rating system forces specialists to be more competitive in delivering executions to the crowd, because if they rate low, they are less likely to be considered for new franchises, which they covet. <font size=1>(The Supertraders, pp. 53-55)</font>
I wonder what would happen if there was some impetus to cause the specialist to be more competitive in executing electronic orders.
Instead, I suspect they use us as order flow to help out the crowd, which are their main customers, and therefore benefit themeslves at the expense of giving us first class executions, or even executions at least as efficient as the crowd gets.