High Frequency Trading : Market abuse and how to reestablish confidence in the market?

Abstract

In today’s highly technologic advanced trading environment traditional investors are no longer competing at same levels as companies using automatic trading strategies. Advanced technology is of significant importance in today’s trading strategies and has forced the trading process away from humans. Instead, using programed computers packed with algorithmic formulas, these robots can spot trends before an ordinary investor can blink, changing strategies and execute orders within milliseconds. Given this technological advantage firms perhaps have crossed the line when trying to earn abnormal return by using market manipulating trading strategy without any respect to traditional investors and business ethics. My research at hand will bring clarity to what extent this problem are related to Swedish markets and discussion around upcoming market regulations and firms social ethics and responsibility will be made.