Brad Katsuyama, a Banker working for the Royal Bank of
Canada, whose job is to buy and sell stocks is the lead character of this
non-fiction book on Stock markets written efficiently as a thriller. The story
begins on a fine day when Katsuyama discovers that the moment he clicked a buy
order, the price of the stock would change. He discovered that the price of the
stock flashing on the screen was only apparent and not actually available. Thus
begins his probe as he uncovers how high-speed-trading, algorithms, super
computers, speed hundreds of miles of fibre-optic cables and Maths geniuses
make trades to happen in microseconds (one millionth of a second). How high
frequency traders made use of technology to rip off billions of dollars by
gaming an SEC Regulation called ‘Reg NMS’ that came into effect in 2007. How dark
pools, which are nothing but private stock markets owned by large Wall Street
investment banks have emerged. How injustice is committed against a programmer
by the U.S. bureaucracy in collision with Goldman Sachs.
Flash boys is yet another jewel of a book from Michael Lewis
and is a must read.
In a scale of 10 we give it an 8.5.
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