It always seems kind of strange that they're there, now that we have computers and networks for doing all sorts of trades. Most of us have a mental picture of floor traders at the stock market — men in blue jackets, shouting at each other, waving bits of paper, gesturing wildly with hand signals.

The guys in her movie dealt in coffee futures.

And they used to do something called open outcry, setting the price right then and there in an open pit. Lee made the film at an interesting time, back in , just as the New York Board of trade — like almost every other exchange — was going electronic.

Why Buying Things on Sale is an Awful Way to Save - The Simple Dollar

I went to find out at the New York Stock Exchange: Polcari, a fast-talker with a big laugh and sense of humor, says things work very differently today from when he first started out in this job 30 years ago. It's defined by high-speed computers that take the emotion out of investing.

Some say it's good. I, on the other hand… Listen, part of what investing was about was the emotion. You come down here 25 or 30 years ago, the emotion blew the roof off the building every single day. It was just so exciting. But here's the thing - for all the excitement and history and prestige, the NYSE actually handles a tiny amount of the overall volume of trades in the U. Ivry says the real action takes place in a high-security warehouse in a small town in New Jersey.

That's where you'll find computers trading at lightning speed.

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They're also cheaper and more efficient than humans. They're nowhere to be seen when that stock is going down. Computers have been known to cause a flash crash — where prices tumble uncontrollably, causing a lot of damage.

But the reality is, automated trading has taken over. Polcari believes there is still a role for human judgement in the system, especially when the market is fragmented.

Open outcry - Wikipedia

They put a face to the battle of the robots. All those traders down there in their blue smocks and their pins — they put a face on trading, on American capitalism. Ivry says we need a narrative to tell us how to invest our money in a way that will help communities. Helmed by Kai Ryssdal, our flagship program examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more.

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