As the financial marketplace has evolved from simple offerings of stocks and bonds to encompass a wide range of tradable asset classes, tensions between classical investment theory, trading practice and government regulation have grown. While innovation has played a major role in the expansion of international capital markets, the risks have developed in tandem with the rewards. This book will map the history of modern trading, focusing on High Frequency Trading and assessing the varied roles and needs of investment elites, market makers, regulators and the public in maintaining clean and orderly market mechanisms.This analysis will be enhanced by select case studies on some of the major financial events of the past 25 years, including the Crash of 1987, LTCM, the dot com bubble and the Flash Crash of 2010. The book will conclude with a look towards the future in terms of technological trends, product innovation and the regulatory change which is sure to stalk this dynamic field of investment.