[FireBeyond]

"If that is the case, am I breaking the law if I just buy some shares and, during the phone call with my dealer, make a comment that I hope my share purchase drives the price up?"

And if it's not, why isn't it? Basically it's a double standard, because (most of) the markets are too cosy with HFT firms.

[kasey_junk]

No. Spoofing harms HFT. They would prefer if it didn't happen (well most would prefer it). If this were the case of regulatory capture by HFT firms (which are not big enough or powerful enough to capture much) they would make spoofing harder to do.