[Jimbo]

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However, from my understanding, every single stock on the NYSE has a specialist firm assigned to it.


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I do believe you are indeed correct. What about the exchange where the SPY is traded?


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I find it interesting that you would accuse me of such a thing considering that, in the same post, you parrot an article that was just in the WSJ (I know I read it somewhere) about Specialists only being involved in 1 out of 30 trades.

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Where I come from that is called due dilligence and research. Try it sometime.

I might add that unless you are buying hundreds of thousands of shares at one time the specialists aren't going to be able to screw you silly or unless it is a very thinly traded stock they can't effect the price you pay at all. Last time I checked the SPY is not thinly traded at all.


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I'm guessing the ones that went belly-up were specialists of dead stocks.

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Nice guess but no cigar for you today, thanks for playing. I'm not saying that you don't have a point when it comes to specialists but tell me, how do you plan on keeping a smooth transition of stock trades on the NYX without one under the current conditions?

Finally as I wrote since as long as there is a seller and a buyer the specialist does not intervene at all, they are bypassed electronically. Do you understand this salient point at all?


Jimbo