March 2026 Friday’s e-links: A New Look At Speedy trades

Every once in a while, (and sometimes each day) I listen to a great podcast, enjoy an article, or see a good video that I want to share with you. These are my e-links.

Last updated 3/06/26

With a war, markets, tariffs, and interest rates grabbing my attention, I was delighted to divert. During an Odd Lots podcast, hosts Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal looked at the Wall Street high speed technology we take for granted. Talking with a sociology professor from the University of Edinburgh, they started with high frequency trading and the story of a firm called Island. From there, they took listeners to an electronic order book and matching machines. Essentially though, they were showing us how just one click from our computer keyboard creates instantaneous results. Considered long now, the trading technology in the 1990s took 2 thousandths of a second. Next, it was a millionth of a second, and now we have nanosecond trades.

Indeed, it’s always so nice to see how the world really works. It was a productive and interesting hour… and a good walk.