Screaming Penguin

The NASDAQ stock exchange is apparently debating methods to take the whole thing to the Internet. Plans are underway to allow member brokerages, and companies to trade directly over the net. Future plans also include public direct trading, about time. Check the details in this C|net story. On a sidenote, the days of the floor, and workday hours, are numbered for all stock exchanges. Why should we have all of that hoopla when it isnt neccessary and why close the market at 5:00? WHy should we pay even $9.95 or $15.00 for a trade, the cost of the system has to be paid for somewhere, but a middleman to do it for us is not neccessary in our computer age. Future markets will be publicly accessible (hopefully for free), electronic and 24 hours a day, no doubt.