Dark Pools: The Rise of the Machine Traders and the Rigging of the U.S.… (2012)

Such an interesting read on market plumbing and the incentives of market makers. ( )

Very well written, albeit with some dramatisation which never adds anything to factual books. I already knew about dark pools but I've learned a lot about the story behind their creation. The author seems to have a poor grasp of technology but I'm willing to chalk it up to oversimplification in an effort to reach a non-technical audience. It never gets preachy which is something rare in books about economy or the stock market. It tells you the story and leaves the exclamations of indignation or awe up to you. ( )

Patterson has written a fascinating and detailed history of the rise of computers and bots in the American, and now global stock markets.

He has got potted histories of the major players in this business and shows how they wrestled power and control and most importantly money from the old guard who controlled the market before. He shows how the raise of computer generated trading has massively increased the churn of stocks, where the fastest to buy or sell is the one who makes the most money. There is a chapter on the flash crash, that took place on the 6th May 2010, where the computer started to sell and sell, causing the US stock market to drop 9% in minutes.

Most frighteningly he looks at the new computerised way that is coming AI. These machines take data from all over the web, from financial web sites to social media and make scarily accurate guesses as to the financial performance of a particular share from this feed aggregation. Not only are they demonstrating that they can outthink humans, but they can react almost instantly.

You don't expect a business book to read like a thriller, but this does. It does get technical at some points, but it is written well and is very readable. The implication behind out of control stock bots on the global economy does not bear thinking about. ( )

Patterson sums up the contemporary state of affairs of humanity's descendent to the abysmal lows by revealing how the stock market , considered by many the guiding "Polaris" ; is in-fact rigged and infiltrated by financial behemoths and their high speed trading algorithms and downright removing all human element e.g. Traders.

Basically generating "wealth" from nothing , while the average investor (the mom n pop's) have absolutely no clue and pretty much at the mercy of the "AI box" which spits buy-sell orders at one billioneth of second ! ( )

I found this book very interesting. It is one of the few books that manage to keep my interest the whole time. I highly recommend this book to other people if you have interest in financial markets. ( )