August 18, 2009
I believe the investment markets should reinstate the uptick rule. This can be realistically be done by ending the .01 pricing rule and returning to .10 or .05 spreads. Just as no one gives much of importance of the .01 (penny) in our payment of exchange... neither will it have importance in trading...after a period of time. It wasn't that amny years ago that 1/8 (.125) or more was a normal spread. Remember that the individual is becoming rather skeptical of US markets since last year. By bringing back upticks with a real spread we will gain credibility with the individual investor. Let's not be so protective of hedge funds etc.... they didn't care much with their use of naked shorting