Introducing Algo

Given that I used to be a computer scientist, my knowledge of algorithmic trading, aka high frequency trading, is shamefully slight. Partly it's because the technology has improved vastly over the last five years: the algo guys used to be three or four nerds in the corner of a vast equity trading floor; now, everyone else is a small corner of their trading arena. If you are as behind on this story as me, you might find this article in the NYT helpful. It does at least make it clearer where the money comes from.