Thick vs. Thin-Skinned : Technology, News, and Financial Market Reaction /

We study the impact of technology on the reaction of financial markets to information, focusing on the foreign exchange market. We contrast the 'thin-skinned' view that technological improvements cause markets to react more to new information with the 'thick-skinned' view that th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Eichengreen, Barry
Other Authors: Lafarguette, Romain, Mehl, Arnaud
Format: Journal
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2017.
Series:IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2017/091
Online Access:Full text available on IMF
Description
Summary:We study the impact of technology on the reaction of financial markets to information, focusing on the foreign exchange market. We contrast the 'thin-skinned' view that technological improvements cause markets to react more to new information with the 'thick-skinned' view that they react less. We pinpoint exogenous technological changes using the timing of the connection of countries via the submarine fiber-optic cables used for electronic trading. Cable connections dampen the response of exchange rates to macroeconomic news, consistent with the 'thick-skinned' hypothesis. This is in line with the view that technology eases access to information and reduces trend-following behavior. According to our estimates, cable connections reduce the reaction of exchange rates to U.S. monetary policy news by 50 to 80 percent.
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Physical Description:1 online resource (37 pages)
Format:Mode of access: Internet
ISSN:1018-5941
Access:Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students