Dark Pools, Scott Patterson
Dark Pools, Scott Patterson
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Dark Pools
The Rise of the Machine Traders and the Rigging of the U.S. Stock Market

Author: Scott Patterson

Narrator: Byron Wagner

Unabridged: 11 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/12/2012


Synopsis

A news-breaking account of the global stock market's subterranean battles, Dark Pools portrays the rise of the "bots"- artificially intelligent systems that execute trades in milliseconds and use the cover of darkness to out-maneuver the humans who've created them.

In the beginning was Josh Levine, an idealistic programming genius who dreamed of wresting control of the market from the big exchanges that, again and again, gave the giant institutions an advantage over the little guy. Levine created a computerized trading hub named Island where small traders swapped stocks, and over time his invention morphed into a global electronic stock market that sent trillions in capital through a vast jungle of fiber-optic cables.  

By then, the market that Levine had sought to fix had turned upside down, birthing secretive exchanges called dark pools and a new species of trading machines that could think, and that seemed, ominously, to be slipping the control of their human masters.

Dark Pools is the fascinating story of how global markets have been hijacked by trading robots--many so self-directed that humans can't predict what they'll do next.

About Scott Patterson

Scott Patterson has been a reporter for more than two decades, mostly at The Wall Street Journal in New York City, Washington, DC, and London. His 2010 New York Times bestseller The Quants was about the rise of mathematical traders and their near destruction of the financial system. His second book, Dark Pools, which exposed how high-frequency trading had rigged the stock market, was lauded by a pantheon of financial writers. A winner of the Loeb Breaking News Award, Patterson has made frequent appearances in the media, including on CNBC, The Daily Show, and Fresh Air. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife and son.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Alex

Are you planning to buy/sell stocks on market? Read this book, so you just understand what you're facing!......more

Please applaud Scott Patterson, a daily newspaper journalist, for making the leap into book publishing. He stands above his colleagues for completing the marathon. “Dark Pools” is an accomplishment that must be praised for shedding light on a difficult topic to visualize. But the book is a flawed pro......more

Goodreads review by Hugh

I'm giving this five stars - an honour I bestow on very few books. This is one of the scariest books I have read, as it explains the sham that is the financial industry today in some detail, in a way that can be understood by anyone prepared to exercise a little thought. You can probably criticise t......more


Quotes

"Far more comprehensive and persuasive [than even Michael Lewis' Flashboys]."
--James Stewart, New York Times Book Review 

"An excellent history of the early electronic traders" - Michael Lewis

“Scott Patterson’s Dark Pools is about the most important financial issue no one talks about—how high-frequency traders have rigged the market.”
--Mark Cuban

“Remarkable…even long-time participants in electronic markets will learn a lot from this book.”
--Forbes
 
“Richly reported…an invaluable piece of timely journalism that should be read by regulators and anyone with a cent in the stock market...You will never look at the opening bell in the same way.”
--Financial Times

“An engaging narrative…DARK POOLS is easily the most entertaining and accessible book to cover the new world of stock trading.”
--Fortune
 
“An education in how markets work, packaged in a thriller worthy of Michael Crichton…. Dark Pools is one of those rare books that is a great summer beach read and a useful trading manual.”
--Minyanville.com
 
“Very enjoyable….a good story of how innovators destroy the old guard.”
--BusinessInsider.com
 
Dark Pools relays an epic tangle of hacktivists, old-school floor exchanges and traders – all wrestling to game the machines…The stories engage from chapter to chapter, bringing the reader from the outside in.”
--Seeking Alpha

An entertaining account of the key battles in the “algo wars” and the colorful math geeks who fight them—some of whom are now fighting to rein in the monsters they created. Dark Pools is an alarming account.”
--Canadian Business

Dark Pools is a must read for all serious investors.  Patterson’s methodically researched book exposes the core problems in today’s securities market…His findings should serve as a blueprint for the SEC.”
--Blair Hull, founder of Hull Trading and Ketchum Trading