I'm amazed things didn't fall apart due to a serious deflation that spun out of control. They stabilized that and got through it by sheer luck in my opinion, until now. But now the problems are in view and they are more serious than in 2008. I think this crash is going to be like the Goldman executives discussed in Lewis' book - a flash crash times 10. A massive 1000 point crash in the S&P that takes place in minutes.vincecate wrote:It seems like we are at the SHTF point, but I am amazed we have lasted this long so I just don't know.Higgenbotham wrote:Yes, I agree. Now it's time to pay the piper as they say. And I think the piper will be demanding an exceptionally large payment.vincecate wrote: Of course government messing with the economy must end badly, eventually.
This is worth repeating because things have only gotten worse:
Triple Whammy Shocker: Goldman Shutting Down Sigma X?
By Tyler Durden
Created 04/08/2014 - 20:47
That this is a momentous development, if true, needs no explanation. Because while Sigma X may or may not be the top dark pool in the industry - a claim that Credit Suisse can possibly make alongside Goldman- Sigma X, which we have written about extensively over the past five years, certainly provides Goldman with not only extensive daily revenue but also gives the firm an inside look into what happens in the institutional marketplace, since the bulk of hedge funds and most mutual funds transact almost exclusively on dark pools now in an attempt to avoid precisely the parasitic HFT algos that have been the topic of so much discussion in recent days.
And if Goldman is willing to exit not only HFT, not only legacy lit markets entirely, but also its dark pool, then something truly big and transformational is coming to not only the existing market structure, but something that will be so disruptive, that for once we can't wait to find out just what Goldman has up its sleeves, sleeves which also happen to house the key lawmakers in the Beltway.
Why is Goldman doing this now? We don't know. It is worth noting however that on page 234 of Flash Boys, Michael Lewis cites Ron Morgan and Brian Levine, Goldman Partners and co-heads of Goldman's global stock markets, who said that "Unless there are some changes, there's going to be a massive crash, a flash crash times ten."