The financial meltdown was just caused by a deviation slightly larger than the one regulators had accounted for.
Regulators were trying to juggle lots of different policies... relaxing underwriting and reserve capital requirements while pumping up mortgages to help make joe sixpack feel rich so he'd support the war on terror. Such widespread regulatory corruption is unprecedented in the first world.
It is/was a horrible mess, but HFT has nothing to do with it. The bizarre indignation people feel about HFT shows just how gullible people can be to "news" stories.
Regulators were trying to juggle lots of different policies... relaxing underwriting and reserve capital requirements while pumping up mortgages to help make joe sixpack feel rich so he'd support the war on terror. Such widespread regulatory corruption is unprecedented in the first world.
It is/was a horrible mess, but HFT has nothing to do with it. The bizarre indignation people feel about HFT shows just how gullible people can be to "news" stories.