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High frequency trading.Last week Knight Capital lost a lot of money very quickly. It was the latest chapter in the story of something called 'high frequency trading'. Investors have always valued b...eing the first with the news. But high frequency trading is different: algorithms execute automatic trades, conducted by computers, at astonishing speeds. We ask: is the rapid growth of high frequency trading progress, or - as some think - a threat to the stability of the entire financial system? Medalling with the Olympics. While the Olympic medal table puts all UK successes together, some people have been tempted to peer under the surface. Scotland has been pronounced superior to England per head of population, while Yorkshire has been hailed as the number one county, beating Australia in the medals table. We check the sums.Trumptonomics. A year after Trumptonshire's Treasurer (Con. T Harford) embarked on a round of public spending cuts which included sacking Fireman Dibble, we return to Trumpton to find out what happened next to the county's economy - and to poor old Dibble.The geeks are coming. Mark Henderson discusses his new book, The Geek Manifesto, which argues for more scientific thinking in public life.
High frequency trading.Last week Knight Capital lost a lot of money very quickly. It was the latest chapter in the story of something called 'high frequency trading'. Investors have always valued b...eing the first with the news. But high frequency trading is different: algorithms execute automatic trades, conducted by computers, at astonishing speeds. We ask: is the rapid growth of high frequency trading progress, or - as some think - a threat to the stability of the entire financial system? Medalling with the Olympics. While the Olympic medal table puts all UK successes together, some people have been tempted to peer under the surface. Scotland has been pronounced superior to England per head of population, while Yorkshire has been hailed as the number one county, beating Australia in the medals table. We check the sums.Trumptonomics. A year after Trumptonshire's Treasurer (Con. T Harford) embarked on a round of public spending cuts which included sacking Fireman Dibble, we return to Trumpton to find out what happened next to the county's economy - and to poor old Dibble.The geeks are coming. Mark Henderson discusses his new book, The Geek Manifesto, which argues for more scientific thinking in public life.
| Series: | More or less |
|---|---|
| Episode | 5 |
| First transmission date: | 2012-08-10 |
| Original broadcast channel: | BBC Radio 4 |
| Published: | 2012 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OU Digital Archive web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:30:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Richard, Knight |
| Presenter: | Tim Harford |
| Contributor: | Tim Harford |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Subject terms: | Economics; Mathematics; Statistics |
| Production number: | AUDA772B |
| Available to public: | no |
