I know the west coasters aren’t happy about this and count me as one east coaster who doesn’t like it either. I vote for shortening the trading day.

NYSE Considers Plan to Open Earlier, Thain Says

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — The New York Stock Exchange is considering a plan to open trading by as much as two hours earlier to attract more business from international investors, NYSE Chief Executive Officer John Thain said.

The exchange wants to make a decision within the year, Thain told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Trading now begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. in New York.

“We are considering the expansion of the hours,” said Thain, 49. “It would probably be just an hour or two at the beginning or the end, more likely at the beginning.”

Seat prices have fallen by more than half since their August 1999 peak of $2.65 million, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rewrites rules governing trading. Thain is developing a hybrid plan to mesh electronic and manual trading to fend off competition from all-automated competitors, such as the Archipelago Exchange.

Archipelago plans to open for trading by 4 a.m. New York time as soon as March to lure business from Europe, the Financial Times reported Jan. 18. [read the entire story...]