Warren Buffett's News Wire Will No Longer Give Special Access To High-Frequency Traders
Cathy Baron Tamraz, Chairwoman and CEO of Business Wire announced that the firm came to the decision in conjunction with Berkshire Hathaway after a Wall Street Journal article cited Business Wire as one of the news sources high frequency traders can pay to get information seconds ahead of other investors.
The traders are getting news releases from Business Wire, which distributes corporate-earnings releases and economic reports such as the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's monthly manufacturing survey, and from Marketwired, a Toronto company that distributes earnings releases and the ADP monthly employment report.
The article, written by Scott Patterson, went on to say that while these practices aren't illegal, they do give high speed traders an unfair edge.
"As the recent Wall Street Journal article and others have pointed out, there was nothing wrong in Business Wire serving these handful of HFTs directly," said Business Wire's news release. "These traders had absolutely no time advantage in receiving material news from Business Wire, which operates a patented internet delivery network that disseminates news simultaneously and in real-time to all market participants, and in accordance with Regulation Fair Disclosure."
That Buffett was willing to get rid of high speed computer traders shouldn't shock anyone - he doesn't even have desk top in his office.