Well its not been a bad summer all in all.
What was looking like a crap year suddenly turned around and I was on track for a good year.
The second week of August this year came about with a complete change in fixed income for those of us who trade eurex and liffe.
The markets booted off, the algos and systems pulled out and hey presto - a genuine market appeared.
Like the survivors of the titanic floating in the atlantic a ship was seen on the horizon.
Its name the HMS MARKET FREE ALGO.
Edges were back, bids and offers traded fully , prices stood their ground and could be hit.
What a difference this was compared to the last few years of flipped prices, cant hit anything because it is pulled when hit in a one lot, profiled spreads trades squeezed to imposssible levels one way by machines geared with so much leverage and money you cant compete.
The exchanges were wondering what the fuck happened.
Where did all our friends go who promised us millions of round trips because we gave them the exchange order book and five pence a round trip fees with their servers cosily next door to the exchange.
Well I have not received one phone call or email from the exchange to thank me for turning up and putting in my prices.
The volumes for eurex fixed income futures are down 11.36% year on year.
The shatz volume alone fell month on month 17.9%.
The volumes when the machines pulled out were actually quite healthy bearing in mine not many people were playing.
Now they have been running again for a couple of weeks the volumes look quite bad.
I think in the long run liffe and eurex particularly on fixed income will have lower and lower volumes.
These machines are killing off long term volume not increasing it.
The statistics back up this.
Hopefully the credit crunch that I firmly believe has infected the market through out will create lots of volatility and these algos will not be able to play due to so many variables of emergency rate cuts/hikes and institution failure etc.
But I fear this may be some time in the making and I fear 2008 will be a long slog.
Anyway as my title thread says - back to the grind.
Yawn Yawn as another spread I have on is squeezed one way until everybody pukes.
Wake up exchanges and get with the programme.
What was looking like a crap year suddenly turned around and I was on track for a good year.
The second week of August this year came about with a complete change in fixed income for those of us who trade eurex and liffe.
The markets booted off, the algos and systems pulled out and hey presto - a genuine market appeared.
Like the survivors of the titanic floating in the atlantic a ship was seen on the horizon.
Its name the HMS MARKET FREE ALGO.
Edges were back, bids and offers traded fully , prices stood their ground and could be hit.
What a difference this was compared to the last few years of flipped prices, cant hit anything because it is pulled when hit in a one lot, profiled spreads trades squeezed to imposssible levels one way by machines geared with so much leverage and money you cant compete.
The exchanges were wondering what the fuck happened.
Where did all our friends go who promised us millions of round trips because we gave them the exchange order book and five pence a round trip fees with their servers cosily next door to the exchange.
Well I have not received one phone call or email from the exchange to thank me for turning up and putting in my prices.
The volumes for eurex fixed income futures are down 11.36% year on year.
The shatz volume alone fell month on month 17.9%.
The volumes when the machines pulled out were actually quite healthy bearing in mine not many people were playing.
Now they have been running again for a couple of weeks the volumes look quite bad.
I think in the long run liffe and eurex particularly on fixed income will have lower and lower volumes.
These machines are killing off long term volume not increasing it.
The statistics back up this.
Hopefully the credit crunch that I firmly believe has infected the market through out will create lots of volatility and these algos will not be able to play due to so many variables of emergency rate cuts/hikes and institution failure etc.
But I fear this may be some time in the making and I fear 2008 will be a long slog.
Anyway as my title thread says - back to the grind.
Yawn Yawn as another spread I have on is squeezed one way until everybody pukes.
Wake up exchanges and get with the programme.