Remember the movie “The Grifters” with John Cusack? As I recall, one of the cons in that movie was that some investor had some special computers that gave him a 7 second advantage over other traders. 

It is the hot new thing on Wall Street, a way for a handful of traders to master the stock market, peek at investors’ orders and, critics say, even subtly manipulate share prices.

It is called high-frequency trading — and it is suddenly one of the most talked-about and mysterious forces in the markets.

Powerful computers, some housed right next to the machines that drive marketplaces like the New York Stock Exchange, enable high-frequency traders to transmit millions of orders at lightning speed and, their detractors contend, reap billions at everyone else’s expense.

These systems are so fast they can outsmart or outrun other investors, humans and computers alike. And after growing in the shadows for years, they are generating lots of talk.

Source: Traders Profit With Computers Set at High Speed – NYTimes.com

I’d bet money that the “high-frequency traders” laugh every time they watch that movie.

Oh, and this is yet another reason I want to punch Wall Street types in the face when they complain about how unethical trial lawyers are.