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Regulators try to keep up with world’s fastest traders

Authorities scrutinise the role of HFTs in volatile markets, but defenders say they are sources of liquidity

Down time
Down time Photo: Getty Images

European regulators are struggling to keep pace with the market’s fastest players – high-frequency traders.

When markets don’t function properly, high-frequency traders usually attract at least some of the blame. Volatility has raised the stakes. Buying and selling securities becomes a riskier game when prices lurch and convulse.

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