A "Buy" On A Wire
Soul searching by Goldman's Bonus Babies?

Should a "Buy" on a wire drop a hint to the choir
    of machines that so few pay to see?
Like a crooked umpire an Exchange is for hire
    but lets you peek-a-boo for a fee.
They may rave; they may rant;
    but they've not said we can't.
We're a capitalist society.

With each millisecond peek
    our machines have time to tweak
The price so we can make a little more –
    and you a little less than you'd hoped for.

You'll be played for a fool when we use that dark pool
    to buy stocks at a price you can't see.
For the trade we can hide, that's not known far and wide,
    can make insider trading tax-free.

Will a "Buy" on a wire at Exchanges we hire
    seem "good" to you, but not to an alert SEC?

Bob Carlson
with a nod of thanks to Leonard Cohen
www.politicalboondoggles.com
8/12/09

To 'Goldman Sachs'
To 'S.E.C. Starts Cracking Down'