more on the abolition of the uptick rule

the abolishment of the uptick rule is ok except for two major developments in the last five years:

1. the dominance of automated trading programs, and
2. the loss of market markers and specialists as middlemen committed to stability and liquidity.

if you told me ten years ago that 2008 would bring the most illiquid markets in a decade, i'd have said you were crazy, but that's exactly what we're facing these days.

there is absolutely no center of gravity in the ticker tape. the failure lies at the sec, which has issued no viable order flow guidelines on black boxes, dark pools and all the other electronic jazz thats pushed the market to the edges of a black swan nightmare.