The applications of computer technology in the financial markets have progressed well beyond number crunching activities. one of the most significant of the current applications is decision-making (Clark, 1989, p. 36). It is often held that the most productive manager or operator is one who has a minimum number of decisions to make. This assertion does not mean that managers and stock traders should not make decisions. Rather, it means that managers and stock traders should not be burdened with requirements to make routine decisions; that a decision-making system should be established, by which most routine decisionmaking will not directly involve managers and stock traders. At issue in the financial markets is the definition of a routine decision. The most contentious example of this dilemma is program trading (Clark, 1989, p. 36). Program trading is based on the use of computerized decision models that take much of the decision-making prerogatives related to huge pension fund and mutual fund trades away from human operators. It is also true, of course, that human operators designed and constructed the decision model.

A major contributions of computer technology to the decision-making pro

cess in the financial markets is the conservation of time with respect to dealing with information overload. A second important contribution is that computers

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Wenle, Jonathan. (1993, 16 March). 2001: A market survey. Financial World, 162(6), 55.

In London, the United Kingdom has abandoned its restricted and highly regulated market, and has replaced that market with a truly international stock market (Parker, 1991, pp. 55-65). There exists some belief that this transition will allow the London Stock Exchange to eventually emerge as the single stock market for the European Community.

[source: Out of America, 1993, p. 90]

over the past year also, major investment houses have increased slightly the proportion of their portfolio assets in equity stocks by two-percent, while reducing their cash holdings by an equal proportion (Out of America, 1993, p. 90). The proportion of assets placed in bonds was unchanged over the past 12 months. Portfolio target positions of selected major investment houses in the context of asset type are presented in Table 2, which may be found below on this page.

Applications of computer technology are also changing the global character of financial markets (Cap, 1989, pp. 713715). Advanced technology has made possible instantaneous financial transactions on a worldwide basis. The growth of significant financial markets in Asia as a complement to those in Western Europe and the United States has created a demand for 24-hour per day, seven-day per week trading. Initially, major investment banks in the three world regions offered their services to investors in each of the other regions through this advanced technology during the normal hours of operation in their home countries. This strategy was soon followed by the creation of subsidiary investment banking firms in