As you read this, ask yourself: Is there a shortage of available programmers on Wall St. currently? Is computer power increasing in cost? Are things just plain fat at Wall and Broad?
This from Fari Hamzei (I've edited to make for easier reading):
"Our options data vendor for our Put/Call Engine finally started to give us some details of their new data package and pricing. Originally as discussed in that webinar, they wanted to raise our data cost by approximately 80X (that is right, 8,000%). They were owned by Lehman Bros (LEH) since December 2005 and were sold to Barclays Plc (BCS) in September 2008 when LEH filed Bk. While we think for our ten years with them, we were charged a very moderate price, no business can smoothly adjust to a 80X rise in its cost structure.
Last Wednesday we found out the new login will roll over effective March 1st via a one page memo. We were never given a parallel login to test our code under load. As I write you now, it is our first hour that we can login under load. Obviously, we will need to spend next day or two to fully understand the switch over and come up with a reduced data package which we can afford given our current subscriber levels (which has been hindered by the tough economic and market times we are in). One solution may be to cut back on 500 root names, or, make the service end-of-the-day only (which closing P/C is most reliable). We simply do not know right now."
Fari provides an outstanding options service.
This action shows horrible business sense and ethics, and threatens to put him out of business.
I just can't make a lick of sense out of it. This (as well as a lot of things) never would have happened when real brokers ran the street.
If anyone has any contacts at Barclays, maybe take a gander at this?
Mark
