High frequency trading spotted drinking Cristal in the VIP room

High frequency trading (HFT) is the media’s new “it girl”, and is generating attention everywhere she goes.

First Forbes magazine did a cover story on The New Masters of Wall Street, highlighting the hedge funds, prop traders and big banks that are turning HFT into big business.

Then Traders Magazine did a related story about how the exchanges are responding in their Race to Zero Latency. Clearly the obsession with execution latency is being driven by the need to keep up with these ultra-fast consumers of liquidity.

Unlike Paris Hilton though, HFT is not making money because it is hot, it is hot because it is making money. Generating buckets of profits is one thing that never goes out of style.