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Building off of the momentum of past conferences, Golden Networking brings back High Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2012, now in New York, Chicago and London (http://www.High-Frequency-Trading-Conference.com)

(click to enlarge)(August 20, 2012, New York) TIME's Christopher Matthews decries another week, another Wall Street scandal, and another opportunity for pundits to bemoan the incompetence and venality of America's financial professionals. Last Wednesday's near collapse of Knight Capital Partners - in which a bug in one of its high-frequency trading algorithms caused the firm too loose $440 million - has raised concerns about high frequency trading and what the practice means for the safety and trustworthiness of our financial markets. But what is high-frequency trading, and is it really all that dangerous?

High frequency trading is a catch-all term that describes the practice of firms using high-powered computers to execute trades at very fast speeds - sometimes thousands or millions of trades per second. These systems have developed over the past ten years, and began to really dominate Wall Street over the last five. For example, a high-frequency trader might try to take advantage of miniscule differences in prices between securities offered on different exchanges: ABC stock could be offered for one price in New York and for a slightly higher price in London. With a high-powered computer and an "algorithm," a trader could buy the cheap stock and sell the expensive one almost simultaneously, making an almost risk-free profit for himself.

At first blush, it appears high-frequency traders have done what market observers generally like, which is increase the amount of trading going on at any given time (what traders call volume) and the ease with which someone can buy or sell a given security (commonly known as liquidity). Basically high-speed traders add to the overall action in a market, which, at least theoretically, is supposed to make markets more accurate and efficient. Don't they? Join the debate at upcoming High Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2012, this time in three of the world's most important financial centers: New York, Chicago and London.

High Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2012, How Knight Capital's 'Knightmare on Wall Street' Could Transform the Regulatory Landscape and Impact Investors, Speed Traders and Brokers", will provide attendees in New York, Chicago and London with the most up-to-date review of where this ever-changing industry stands and how new technology and regulatory developments will impact it. Recognized experts, regulators, and strategists, will return to High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2012 to provide the information practitioners are looking for in an open and unbiased environment, highly conducive to the most efficient and effective networking.

With insightful keynote speeches and highly regarded panels, everybody involved in high-frequency trading will gain inside knowledge about the latest technologies that can drastically optimize HFT infrastructures and take a first look at upcoming regulations that could radically change the HFT firms' business model. Topics that will be discussed at High Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2012 include the movement toward emerging markets, every time more attuned to the use of bots, the regulatory environment, how new technologies are changing the game, including FPGA applications, and a look at the upcoming regulatory changes that will definitely impact how speed traders capture alpha.

High Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2012 is produced by Golden Networking (http://www.goldennetworking.net), the premier networking community for business executives, entrepreneurs and investors. Panelists, speakers and sponsors are invited to contact Golden Networking by sending an email to info@goldennetworking.net.