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Chicago MERC Ends Floor Trading after 167 Years

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Clerks in the Euro Dollar Futures pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange trade after the news that interest rates will remain the same Tuesday Sep. 16, 2003. The Fed said that the low rates, currently at a 45-year low, "can be maintained for a considerable period." (AP Photo/Anne Ryan)

Clerks in the Euro Dollar Futures pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange trade after the news that interest rates will remain the same Tuesday Sep. 16, 2003. The Fed said that the low rates, currently at a 45-year low, “can be maintained for a considerable period.” (AP Photo/Anne Ryan)

This is the end of an era. The Chicago trading pits have closed after 167 years. What is a shame about this is that great traders need the “feel” and you just do not get that from looking at flashing screens. It is like playing chess against a great opponent vs. the computer or flying a plane in a computer simulation vs. real life. There are differences one just does not achieve.

One of our projects on the back-burner is to try to bring back that “feel” to trading. It is something that taught me from a young age. After Socrates, we will start to recreate something I always wanted to do.