<story><title>Financial systems take a holiday</title><url>https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/financial-systems-take-a-holiday/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>mason55</author><text>&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;Why can&amp;#x27;t I as a regular retail investor trade a stock on Saturday?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Markets have chosen to concentrate trading to specific hours so as to concentrate liquidity and to help out the professional traders.  If everyone&amp;#x27;s trading 24&amp;#x2F;7 then it means you need to be prepared to trade 24&amp;#x2F;7.  Having defined market hours means defined hours in which important things can happen.  And since the people who work in the market can also define the hours, they&amp;#x27;ve chosen to give themselves reasonable working hours.&lt;p&gt;In a world where the major markets are trading 24&amp;#x2F;7, traders need to be at their desk 24&amp;#x2F;7.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;Why can&amp;#x27;t I move money from one bank account to another on Sunday?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Instant money transfer means instantly draining someone&amp;#x27;s bank account with no recourse.  Checks have plenty of opportunities to stop the money, so you can write a check on a Sunday as easily as a Wednesday.  Wires are more irreversible and so you can only send those when the bank is open and there&amp;#x27;s someone to double check any suspicious behavior.</text></item><item><author>ryandrake</author><text>&amp;gt; Financial systems are inseparably computer systems. Most similarly important computer systems don’t take holidays. Google doesn’t take holidays… or doesn’t seem to, from the perspective of a typical user, at any rate.&lt;p&gt;Wouldn&amp;#x27;t it be better for users if our financial systems worked like the Google example? Why can&amp;#x27;t I as a regular retail investor trade a stock on Saturday? Why can&amp;#x27;t I move money from one bank account to another on Sunday? Imagine not being able to send E-mail on Easter because nobody at your ISP was there to push bits around or whatever these banks&amp;#x27; excuse is?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>seydor</author><text>Crypto trades 24&amp;#x2F;7 and I don&amp;#x27;t see anyone complaining or liquidity problems. Lots of people can&amp;#x27;t trade in the public markets because they are at work those hours. Let&amp;#x27;s just admit it s all a legacy antiquated system instead of finding excuses for its shortcomings</text></comment>
<story><title>Financial systems take a holiday</title><url>https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/financial-systems-take-a-holiday/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>mason55</author><text>&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;Why can&amp;#x27;t I as a regular retail investor trade a stock on Saturday?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Markets have chosen to concentrate trading to specific hours so as to concentrate liquidity and to help out the professional traders.  If everyone&amp;#x27;s trading 24&amp;#x2F;7 then it means you need to be prepared to trade 24&amp;#x2F;7.  Having defined market hours means defined hours in which important things can happen.  And since the people who work in the market can also define the hours, they&amp;#x27;ve chosen to give themselves reasonable working hours.&lt;p&gt;In a world where the major markets are trading 24&amp;#x2F;7, traders need to be at their desk 24&amp;#x2F;7.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;Why can&amp;#x27;t I move money from one bank account to another on Sunday?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Instant money transfer means instantly draining someone&amp;#x27;s bank account with no recourse.  Checks have plenty of opportunities to stop the money, so you can write a check on a Sunday as easily as a Wednesday.  Wires are more irreversible and so you can only send those when the bank is open and there&amp;#x27;s someone to double check any suspicious behavior.</text></item><item><author>ryandrake</author><text>&amp;gt; Financial systems are inseparably computer systems. Most similarly important computer systems don’t take holidays. Google doesn’t take holidays… or doesn’t seem to, from the perspective of a typical user, at any rate.&lt;p&gt;Wouldn&amp;#x27;t it be better for users if our financial systems worked like the Google example? Why can&amp;#x27;t I as a regular retail investor trade a stock on Saturday? Why can&amp;#x27;t I move money from one bank account to another on Sunday? Imagine not being able to send E-mail on Easter because nobody at your ISP was there to push bits around or whatever these banks&amp;#x27; excuse is?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>jimmydorry</author><text>Except sophisticated traders are allowed to trade outside of market hours (after hours markets are a thing). When news drops, price is absolutely affected in the after-hours market.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s only the regular Joe&amp;#x27;s that are not allowed the priviledge to trade at all hours.</text></comment>