Before the advent of computers and charting software, pit traders and market makers used this method to figure out where the markets might be heading.

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Some former pit traders are helping to throttle open outcry.

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Jump Trading , a firm founded in 1999 by two former pit traders (one of whom got his start trading for thrill-seeker Steve Fossett), has 50 traders buying and selling a variety of contracts by computer.

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Meanwhile, the debate in the financial media continues to pit the generally bearish traders against the fundamental money managers, who consider many stocks to still be undervalued.

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But CME Group is not going to be the one to come up with the cash so traders can get back in the pit or on the screen.

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The 10-year pit is down from 150 or so brokers and traders as recently as two years ago to 80 or so.

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Traders no longer need to be in the pit, which provides a work-from-home flexibility that appeal to many women.

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