Fed speaks, markets move, messages multiply

By: Ray Pellecchia

File Under: NYSE

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This is perhaps kind of "inside baseball," but for those of you who are interested, here goes.

A colleague recently set me up to get e-mail alerts every time we set a record for electronic-message traffic. For you laymen like me out there, those messages represent orders, trade-execution reports, cancellations and the like.

It's like a new toy for me, especially on days like today.

Starting the same minute the Fed made its announcement at 2:15 p.m. today, sending the markets spiking, the wheels really started spinning here. Things have calmed down long since, but FYI, here are the messages I got in rapid succession:

CQS [that's Consolidated Quote System] 30 sec throughput record of 30915.6 messages per second established at 14:15:30. Replaces previous record of 30883.1 messages per second established on 01/23/2008.

CQS 5 min throughput record of 29327.5 messages per second established at 14:19:00. Replaces previous record of 27352.0 messages per second established on 01/23/2008 at 15:47-15:51.

CQS 5 min throughput record of 29693.8 messages per second established at 14:20:00. Replaces previous record of 29327.5 messages per second established on 01/30/2008 at 14:14-14:18.

CMS [Common Message Switch] 5 min throughput record of 32589.0 messages per second established at 14:38:00. Replaces previous record of 32534.3 messages per second established on 01/23/2008 at 15:46-15:50.

CQS 30 sec throughput record of 31008.5 messages per second established at 14:37:30. Replaces previous record of 30915.6 messages per second....

I might have missed one or two while cutting and pasting that. The important thing is, no hiccups, knock wood. As I've said, we aim to be available when you need access to the market, and that goes double when *everyone* needs that access, all at the same time.

Half a dozen traffic records in a half-hour's time. That's why we spent more than $25 million on expanding the capacity of our systems last year. Someone thought that would be a much better use of the money as opposed to doing something like, oh, say, just for the sake of throwing something else out there...like dropping it into my bonus. Can you imagine? Me neither. Oh well. There's always next year.

This all may be pretty far down in the weeds, but I'm just trying to shed some light on how the wheels go 'round and 'round. Some kinda Druid dude, lifting the veil, as Dr. Winston O'Boogie once put it -- that's my goal.

Hope all those messages are going your way, thanks for sending them, and keep 'em coming!