Chicago Traders Received Advance Word on Fed Tapering

Now, word is out that it does appear some Chicago traders did indeed receive advance word.

CNBC reports:

Some traders in Chicago appear to have had access to the Fed's decision before anyone else in the Windy City. According to trading data reviewed by CNBC, they began buying in Chicago-traded assets just before others in that city could possibly have been aware of the Fed's decision. By one estimate, as much as $600 million in assets changed hands in the milliseconds before most other traders in Chicago could learn of the Fed's September surprise—a sharp contrast to the very low volume of trading ahead of the Fed's decision[...]

It's not exactly clear how the information got to Chicago markets so quickly. But the Federal Reserve is concerned enough about the unusual event that it has begun discussions with news organizations. In response to specific questions about the unusual trading activity, the Fed released a statement to CNBC saying, "We will be conducting follow-up conversations with news organizations to ensure our procedures are completely understood."

We clearly pointed this out with our charts here.