SHOULD YOU BE SCARED OF DECIMAL STOCK PRICING?

摘要

For more than two centuries, Wall Street has counted money in the same units that 17th century pirates used—pieces of eight. This summer, fractional pricing—pricing stocks in eighths, sixteenths, and the occasional thirty-second of a dollar—will finally go the way of Spanish doubloons, as stock and options markets switch to decimal pricing. The move will come as a relief to anyone who's ever struggled to translate 17(7/16) in dollars and cents. But investors will still need to watch for dark sails on the horizon.